TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland each scored twice on Monday, June 22, turning the race for the World Cup Golden Boot into a fierce battle between three of football's biggest stars, as ANTARA reported.
Messi, who turns 39 in two days, scored both goals in Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria at Dallas Stadium, taking his World Cup career tally to a record 18. The Argentina national team captain now leads the tournament's top scorers list with five goals in two matches.
Hours later in Philadelphia, Mbappe followed in Messi's footsteps by scoring twice as France defeated Iraq 3-0, despite the match being delayed for nearly two hours due to a thunderstorm at halftime. Making his 100th international appearance, the France captain now has 16 goals in three World Cups, equaling the record previously held by Miroslav Klose.
At New York's New Jersey Stadium, Haaland scored twice as Norway beat Senegal 3-2 to secure their place in the round of 32. In his World Cup debut, the 25-year-old now has four goals in two matches, equaling Mbappe's tally and leaving him just one goal behind Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.
However, Mbappe chose to play down comparisons between himself and Messi after France's win over Iraq. "Leo (Messi) always scores goals and always will. So I am not looking at what he is doing. I'm just focusing on helping my team," said Mbappe.
France coach Didier Deschamps said his team captain has every chance to set a new record. "Records are there to be broken," Deschamps said after Mbappe equaled Klose's World Cup record of 16 goals.
Haaland has emerged as a serious contender for the title. Norway last appeared at the World Cup in 1998, exactly two years before Haaland was born, making this edition the Norwegian striker's World Cup debut.
With more games to come, the race for the Golden Boot remains wide open, with Messi, Mbappe and Haaland all in the running.
Read: Three Countries, One World Cup, but Why?
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