Messi Chases World Cup Record as Argentina Faces Austria
Lionel Messi stands on the brink of yet another World Cup record, but this one feels different.
On Monday in Dallas, against Austria, the Argentina captain needs one more goal to move clear as the greatest scorer in World Cup history. One more to step out alone on 17. One more to leave Miroslav Klose behind.
He arrives at this moment at 39, carrying far more than the weight of statistics. He turns 39 on Wednesday. He has already dragged a sore hamstring into this tournament. Off the pitch, his father is recovering from an unspecified health issue. When he scored the first of his hat-trick in the 3-0 opening win over Algeria, the tears told their own story.
The emotion did not weaken him. It lit up the team.
Alexis Mac Allister put it bluntly after that victory: anyone who thought Argentina might be better off without Messi had just watched the answer. His presence, even when he is not at full physical capacity, still bends games and teammates to his will. The defending champions look like themselves when he is on the pitch.
Against Austria, the stakes are clear. Win, and Argentina are through to the next round. If Jordan fail to beat Algeria later on Monday, they finish top of Group J as well. It is the kind of night Messi has owned for nearly two decades. Now he chases one last number on the grandest stage of all.
Mbappé hits 100 as France march on
While Messi stalks Klose’s record from one side of the draw, Kylian Mbappé is sprinting after it from the other.
The France forward will win his 100th cap when Les Bleus face Iraq in Philadelphia. A century of appearances at 27, in a World Cup group game, says everything about the speed of his rise and the burden he now carries as the face of French football.
“There is nothing bigger — one hundred is a historic figure, and to have the chance to reach that tally here at a World Cup means it will be a special match for me,” he told reporters on Sunday.
He already has 14 World Cup goals, level with West Germany legend Gerd Müller, after scoring twice in France’s opening 3-1 win over Senegal in Group I. Two more and he joins Messi on 16. Three, and he catches Klose.
France, beaten by Argentina on penalties in that epic 2022 final, expect to make light work of Iraq and secure their place in the knockout rounds. The only thing that might slow them is the weather, with thunderstorms forecast in Philadelphia and the threat of interruptions hanging over the fixture.
If France do their job, the pressure swings to Norway and Erling Haaland in New Jersey. Haaland scored twice in a 4-1 win over Iraq to start their campaign. Beat Senegal, and with a French victory, Norway also book their passage from Group I. Two of the deadliest finishers in the game, chasing the same record from different directions, already shaping this World Cup’s story.
Spain answer their critics
On Sunday, Spain finally found their edge.
After a flat, goalless draw with Cape Verde in their opener, the European champions took a hammering in the Spanish media. A team that prides itself on control had looked sterile. The response was ruthless.
Against Saudi Arabia, Spain cut loose in a 4-0 win that put them top of Group H with four points from two games. The spark came from the teenager everyone had been waiting for. Lamine Yamal, making his first start in two months after a hamstring problem, opened the scoring and shifted the mood of an entire campaign.
Once the first went in, Spain played with a freedom missing from their opening outing. Mikel Oyarzabal struck twice to kill any hint of resistance, and a Hassan al-Tambakti own goal completed the rout. The anger back home had stung. Luis de la Fuente admitted as much.
“When someone questions your work, it is only human that anyone with courage and pride reacts to prove people wrong,” the Spain coach said.
His players did exactly that. The questions have not vanished, but the volume has dropped.
Cape Verde keep dreaming
On the other side of Group H, Cape Verde continue to rewrite expectations.
World Cup debutants, tipped by many to simply enjoy the experience and go home early, they have now taken points off both Spain and Uruguay. After that stubborn 0-0 against Spain, they followed it with a vibrant 2-2 draw against Uruguay in Miami, a game that swung and surged and left the South Americans rattled.
Cape Verde did not just cling on. They traded blows with one of football’s traditional powers and refused to back down. Their coach, Bubista, allowed himself to look beyond the next 90 minutes.
He said his team are now dreaming of the knockout rounds, a scenario barely considered realistic before a ball was kicked. “We want to show the entire world that we are in the condition to fight for qualification, and I think that that’s what we showed in today’s match,” he said.
The dream no longer feels fanciful. It feels earned.
Belgium stall, Iran send a message
Not everyone is gathering momentum.
Belgium, still searching for their first win, were held to a 0-0 draw by Iran in Group G. After another stalemate, this time in Los Angeles, the Red Devils look short of ideas and rhythm. They also finished with 10 men, and even with the extra urgency that usually brings, they could not break down a disciplined, resilient Iranian side.
Belgium’s draw with Egypt in their opener had already raised concerns. This latest result deepens them. The generation that once promised so much is running out of time to prove it on the World Cup stage.
Iran, by contrast, leave more than just a defensive performance behind. Competing at this World Cup while their country and the United States are engaged in negotiations to end their war, the Iranian squad chose their words carefully and left them on the dressing-room wall at Los Angeles Stadium.
“May peace, respect and friendship prevail among all nations,” read the handwritten message.
They thanked Los Angeles for its hospitality. They thanked every Iranian who had given “heart, voice and soul” across their 180 minutes on the pitch. “We came to Los Angeles with pride, competed with honour, and left with dignity,” the note concluded.
On a day when Messi chases history, Mbappé hits 100, and Cape Verde push at the edges of possibility, Iran’s words cut through the noise. Records will fall. Campaigns will rise and collapse. The World Cup, as ever, keeps asking the same question: what will be remembered when the goals and scorelines fade?
