Erling Haaland carries Norway past Senegal, into round of 32

Erling Haaland’s second consecutive two-goal match led Norway into the round of 32 at the World Cup with a 3-2 victory against Senegal in East Rutherford, N.J., on Monday.

Norway and France each have six points from two matches heading into their Group I finale on Friday in Foxborough, Mass. France lead on goal differential (plus-5 to plus-4), meaning they need just a draw to take first place in the group.

Senegal (0-2-0, 0 points) are on the verge of elimination entering their match against Iraq (0-2-0, 0 points) on Friday in Toronto.

After goals by substitute Marcus Holmgren Pedersen in the 43rd minute and Haaland in the 48th, Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr pulled one back in the 53rd before Haaland made it a two-goal lead again in the 58th.

Sarr caused a nervy finish by scoring in the third minute of second-half stoppage time with a strike from the middle of the box to make it 3-2.

Haaland, who scored twice in his World Cup debut vs. Iraq in the opening match, made it 2-0 when Martin Odegaard slipped a pass through two defenders and Haaland took a shot despite slipping.

Sarr held off two defenders to score from the center of the box to make it 2-1, but Norway responded with pressure that created a turnover and Patrick Berg spotted Haaland in front of the goal. Haaland took the hip-high service and still managed to get off a right-footed shot. He has 24 goals during a 12-match goal streak for Norway in competitive matches and 59 goals in 52 career international matches overall.

Another brace for Mbappe sends France to 3-0 win over Iraq

PHILADELPHIA — Kylian Mbappe scored his second brace in as many matches as France eased into the last 32 with a 3-0 victory over Iraq on Monday in the first match of this World Cup beset by a lengthy weather stoppage.

The goals for Mbappe, in his 100th cap, came nearly three hours apart after thunderstorms in the region delayed the second-half kickoff by approximately two hours.

“The first half was good,” French manager Didier Deschamps said. “In the second half, we picked up where we left off, bearing in mind that it wasn’t easy given what happened, and we managed to put the game beyond reach. That’s a very good thing.”

Mbappe now sits on 16 all-time World Cup goals, pulling level with the former record-holder, Germany’s Miroslav Klose. Earlier on Monday, Lionel Messi set a new benchmark of 18 World Cup goals with a brace in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria.

Mbappe’s four goals also put him one behind Messi in the Golden Boot race.

Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele also scored after halftime for two-time champions France, who will face Norway on Saturday with the Group I title on the line. Norway defeated Senegal 3-2 later Monday night to also move to 2-0-0 in the event.

Because of their superior goal difference, France need only a draw against Norway on Friday in Foxborough, Mass., to top the group.

Dembele had faced criticism for what some regarded as a poor performance in France’s 3-1 opening win over Senegal.

“There’s no issue,” Deschamps said. “Ousmane is confident in himself. He can sometimes get people talking, but I have complete faith in him. He’s still finding his bearings because his role is different from the one he has at his club.”

Iraq remain alive for one
of the eight third-place spots that will qualify for the round of 32.

They probably would need a win in their group finale against Senegal and help elsewhere. They could be without Aymen Hussein, who scored in their 4-1 opening defeat by Norway but came off in the 26th minute on Monday with an apparent injury.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi breaks World Cup
goals record vs. Austria

Lionel Messi added to his legacy Monday afternoon by scoring his record-breaking 17th career World Cup goal in the first half before adding his 18th in second-half stoppage time of Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria in Arlington, Texas.

The 17th goal broke a tie with Germany’s Miroslav Klose. The 18th briefly put him four in front of Kylian Mbappe, the next-closest active player — only for the French star to score a brace later Monday against Iraq to match Klose’s 16.

“Well, I’m very happy because of this victory,” Messi said immediately after the match through an interpreter.

“This was a very important and tough victory. We worked very hard on it. And that reassures us for what’s coming next.

“So this is a World Cup. All of the matches are very intense, and all of the teams play well. And we’re happy because we have six points and we’re qualified.”

Messi, who turns 39 on Wednesday, has scored 11 of his historic total of 18 goals since turning 35.

His total from the last two World Cups alone would be tied for seventh on the tournament’s all-time scoring list.

Messi scored his record-setting goal on a first-touch left-footed strike from just inside the 18-yard box in the 38th minute off an assist from Facundo Medina.

He completed his brace five minutes into added time, cleaning up his own rebound following a surging counterattack and firing low through traffic.

That gave him a two-goal lead over Canada’s Jonathan David and Germany’s Deniz Undav in the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot race.

Asked for his favorite World Cup goal of his career, Messi could not pinpoint one.

“I don’t remember, really,” he said. “I’m tired. I don’t have a lot of strength and it’s hard to think for me right now. So I’m just enjoying this moment and I want to join my colleagues.”

Messi, who became one of the first two players to appear in six World Cups last week alongside Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, entered this summer’s event three goals behind Klose. Behind his first career World Cup hat trick in the Group J opener vs. Algeria on June 16, he pulled even entering the second group-stage match.

With the goal, Messi also tied a different World Cup record, scoring in his sixth straight match dating back to the 2022 World Cup which Argentina won. He’s just the third player to score in six straight World Cup matches alongside France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho.