Superstar Monday at the World Cup: Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe chase record with Argentina, France in action

It is hard to believe that come the end of this tournament Miroslav Klose, slayer of minnows (and Argentina), will retain his place as the World Cup's all-time record goalscorer. After one round of fixtures he already shares that status with Messi, who scored goals No. 14, 15 and 16 in that comprehensive win over Algeria first time out. It seems fitting that this particular honor should go to the Argentine.

Messi has been a triumph of longevity as much as anything else. When he departed PSG in 2023 it was after 17 years at the coal-face of the club game in Europe. Whether there have been greater players than him is a matter for debate, what is not is that he and his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo set a new standard for how long that greatness could be maintained during the toll of 50-game seasons. 

Messi has kept coming back to the biggest stage of all, setting a new record for World Cup appearances in the 2022 final that was his crowning glory. He might also be the assist leader too, depending on how much store you put in pre-1966 assists. Break Klose's record against Austria and another spot in the history books will open up for the great man, who will join Jairzinho and France's Just Fontaine as the only players to score in six consecutive World Cup matches.

If Messi's pursuit of records at the age of 38 borders on the inadvertently avaricious, then you can see why you might forgive him. These new watermarks he looks like setting might not last long. In fact, it might not be entirely beyond the realms of possibility that Argentina's No.10 finds himself the outright record goalscorer at the World Cup for only a matter of hours. If he scores one against Austria who is to say that Mbappe won't follow that up with three against Iraq, who could not stop Haaland bulldozing his way to two goals, five shots and 1.95 xG in their opener.

Mbappe was somehow more awe-inspiring against Senegal for how off-color he was across the first hour of the game. In that time you could really argue the 27-year-old was hindering France's success. He didn't press, he floated across the frontline as the mood took him, rather than to aid his team mates, and his first touch was consistently heavy. Then it all clicked in irresistible fashion. A bad day for the Real Madrid man ended in two goals.

Generally, at this tournament, Mbappe has more good days than bad. If Didier Deschamps proceeds with what worked so well in the second half of the Senegal, handing the playmaking reins to Michael Olise rather than trying a front two with Ousmane Dembele, then this could be one of those rare games where France really cut loose. Should that be the case, then any Messi reign as the World Cup's greatest scorer threatens to be a brief one.

Odegaard trying to find his zone

The 2025-26 season proved to be a curious one for Martin Odegaard. On one hand, he became the first Arsenal captain in 22 years to lift the Premier League trophy, a triumph to which he contributed some quite exceptional moments of individual skill, including the assist for the pivotal goal of the title race in the victory over West Ham. And yet injuries meant Odegaard's involvement was more fleeting than he might have liked, his leadership skills were often questioned and Mikel Arteta even showed a willingness to bench the skipper who had for so long been an indispensable cog in his side.

Too often, it felt like Odegaard wasn't quite able to find the spots he was most comfortable in, flanked by the personnel he performed best with, an inside right position with Bukayo Saka in close proximity and Jurrien Timber or Ben White offering support from fullback. Well, there is nothing Stale Solbakken can do about getting his Arsenal teammates in the team, but the Norway manager did at least ensure against Iraq that Odegaard, his No.10, was getting the ball where he wanted it.

What is striking about seeing Norway in action is how much they seem like a club side playing the international game. This is a squad predominantly aged between 25 and 28, who have grown up together and experienced an awful lot of highs and lows. When you have as many reps together as this team does, it matters a little less that you have to shunt Alexander Sorloth out wide to fit him and Haaland into a team. You make it work thanks to a quality overlapping right back like Julian Ryerson and a captain in Odegaard who can offer a little more creativity from wide.

And when Odegaard feels at ease, you see that the injuries of the last two seasons have not quite dulled him yet. By the time he was taken off against Iraq he had completed 41 of 42 passes, providing an assist for Leo Ostigaard off a corner and delivering 0.29 expected assists. His performance was not without its critics back home, though those were not shared by his teammates. "Nonsense" was what David Moller Wolfe had to say about those assessments. Kristian Thorstvedt went for "rubbish." Perhaps the criticism that came the way of the captain reflects the ludicrously high standards he has set. If Norway's opener was Odegaard on an off day, best of luck to Senegal if they are the unfortunate team he turns it on against.