Last week, Argentina’s Lionel Messi, France’s Kylian Mbappé and Norway’s Erling Haaland scored a combined seven goals on the same day. They are all in action again today. Call in sick to work, cancel your plans and turn on Peacock.
This might be one of the best days of the tournament. The NBC News team will be live-blogging all the games, and we’ll make sure you don’t miss a thing.
Mohamed Salah has finally made his mark at the World Cup, scoring and assisting in Egypt’s 3-1 win over New Zealand, his nation’s first win in the competition. The Pharaohs moved to the top of the standings in Group G with the win but are still not yet assured a spot in the knockout round. They play a decider against Iran on Friday in Seattle, needing at least a draw to advance.
Iran, too, can still advance to the knockout round — something it has never done in six previous World Cup appearances, dating back to 1978. It registered a second point of the competition in a goalless draw against Belgium, which had 23 shots on goal but had Nathan Ngoy sent off in the second half and had to finish the game with 10 players.
Cape Verde followed up their surprise draw against Spain by holding two-time champions Uruguay to a 2-2 draw in Miami. Spain trounced Saudi Arabia 4-0, Lamine Yamal becoming only the second player 18 or younger to open the scoring in a FIFA World Cup match, following in the footsteps of Pelé in 1958.
If you only tune in for one day of group stage action, perhaps make it today: Messi aims to surpass Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s 16 goals to become the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer.
Mbappé of France, Messi’s former teammate at Paris Saint-Germain, has 14 goals, having bagged a brace against Senegal in Group I, and could himself surpass the record with a hat trick against Iraq.
Like Mbappé, Norway’s Haaland already has two goals in the World Cup. He’ll be aiming to add to that tally against Senegal later today.
Reigning European champions Spain finally looked like tournament favorites, with teenage star Lamine Yamal leading them to a 4-0 pummeling of Saudi Arabia. Manager Luis de la Fuente compared Barcelona’s artist-in-residence to Salvador Dali and Michelangelo, but could either of those men score 10 minutes into their first World Cup start?
Meanwhile, the side that stopped La Roja in their tracks last week, Cape Verde, has stunningly kept their World Cup dream alive. The Blue Sharks drew Uruguay 2-2, with La Celeste goalkeeper Fernando Muslera dropping a stinker of a performance that Oscar the Grouch would be proud of. The tournament debutants from an archipelago off the coast of West Africa can now advance to the Round of 32 with a win against Saudi Arabia in their group-stage finale.
Today, a star-studded slate of matches takes the stage while history beckons. Argentina faces off against Austria at 1 p.m. ET in Dallas, where Lionel Messi is set to try to surpass Miroslav Klose’s all-time tournament scoring record with both players tied at 16 goals.
Then, Kylian Mbappé’s France meets Iraq at 5 p.m. ET in Philadelphia before a potential match of the group stage arrives when Norway clashes with Senegal at 8 p.m. ET at the New York New Jersey Stadium. The terrifying freight train of a footballer that is Erling Haaland meets one of Africa’s finest sides in the Lions of Teranga, as veterans Kalidou Koulibaly and Édouard Mendy look to stop the Norwegians in their tracks.
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World Cup! All the games are on Telemundo and Peacock, and all times are Eastern:
That’s it for now! We’ll be back tomorrow.
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