Mbappé’s double fires France, Messi hat trick sends Argentina flying
After a quiet first half, Kylian Mbappé took over. The France captain scored twice as Les Bleus beat Senegal 3-1 in their World Cup opener, moving past Pelé with 14 career World Cup goals.
Mbappé broke the deadlock in the 66th minute before Bradley Barcola doubled France’s lead late on. Senegal pulled one back in stoppage time, but Mbappé responded just 68 seconds later with a stunning long-range strike to seal the victory.
France had struggled early and were outshot in the first half, but Mbappé’s brilliance turned the game around and gave the 2022 runners-up a winning start.
Lionel Messi rolled back the years with a sensational hat trick as defending champions Argentina cruised to a 3-0 victory over Algeria in their World Cup opener. The 39-year-old scored in both halves before completing the first World Cup hat trick of his career to a standing ovation from Argentina fans.
The three goals took Messi to 16 World Cup goals, drawing level with Miroslav Klose as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer. He also became just the second player, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, to score in five different World Cups.
Twenty years after scoring on his World Cup debut, Messi once again stole the show, leading Argentina to the perfect start in their quest to retain the title.
