A historic night marked the second matches of the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The three great superstars of modern football – Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland – shone with full force, scoring two goals each for their homelands to officially seal their tickets to the eliminations (Top 32).
Here's how the main actors and the world's sports media reacted to the hot events from the stadiums in Texas, Pennsylvania and New Jersey:
ARGENTINA – AUSTRIA 2:0: The day Messi became immortal
The captain of the “albiceleste“ Lionel Messi experienced everything in Dallas. Despite missing a penalty in the 9th minute, he got his revenge with two phenomenal goals (in the 38th and 90+5th minutes), with which he surpassed the legendary Miroslav Klose and officially became the best scorer in the history of the World Cups with 18 goals.
Lionel Scaloni (Argentina coach): “To miss a penalty and then rewrite the history of football... only Leo can do that. The most important thing is that we are in the next phase and the team is showing maturity.“
Ralf Rangnick (Austria coach): “We tried We tried to close the spaces and David (Alaba) did an incredible job until the break. However, there is no antidote against the genius of Messi. For us, the match against Algeria is a final.“
Olé, Argentina: “The king of world finals! Leo atoned for his mistake from the penalty spot in the greatest way. Argentina celebrates qualifying, exactly 40 years after Maradona's famous goal against England.“
FRANCE – IRAQ 3:0: Thunderstorm and another recital by Mbappe
The match in Philadelphia will be remembered for the unprecedented 131-minute interruption due to a violent storm and lightning. However, the forced break in the locker room did not cool the enthusiasm of the “roosters“. Kylian Mbappe scored his second double of the tournament (14' and 54'), while Ousmane Dembele scored the classic.
Kylian Mbappe (France captain): “It was exhausting to wait in the dressing room for more than two hours. We were focused. I'm happy with the goals, but more importantly, France is moving forward confidently.“
Iraq coach:“The result 0:3 against one of the main favorites for the title is not shameful, especially after such chaos with the weather. Our fans were incredible and gave us our energy back at the end.“
L'Équipe, France: “Lightning in the sky and Mbappe on the pitch. France overcame nature and Iraq without any tension. The strength of this squad is scary"
NORWAY – SENEGAL 3:2: Viking Show on „MetLife“
Erling Haaland was no less than his Golden Boot rivals. The striker scored two goals to give Norway a hard-fought but sweet triumph in a goal-scoring thriller against Senegal in New Jersey. The Norwegians literally drove the stands crazy, celebrating with their popular „Viking rowing salute“.
Erling Haaland (Norway striker): „Honestly, I don't really care about the France game. They'll probably beat us, and they'll probably win the whole World Cup. We did our job.“, he told Fox Sports. Finally, he added that sharing the joy with the fans through the “Viking rowing“ was phenomenal.
Martin Odegaard (Norway captain): “I did my best to find Erling for the second goal. We had some tough moments at the end when they pressed, but this team has character and deserves to be among the best."
The Guardian, UK): “Holland and Messi in a mad chase. Erling responded to Leo and Kylian with another double strike. The clash between France and Norway in the last round will be a titanic duel between Mbappe and Holland.“
The situation in the groups after tonight
Group J: Argentina lead with 6 points and are the sure winners of the group. Austria and Algeria will fight for second place.Group I: France and Norway have 6 points each and have already qualified. The head-to-head clash between them in Boston on June 26 will decide who finishes on top