ARLINGTON (AP) – Lionel Messi has been mesmerizing. Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 has been, well, magnifique.<\/p>\n
Two of the biggest stars of the World Cup are setting records with history-making goals in a sizzling start that has even the most casual soccer fans in the U.S. taking notice.<\/p>\n
Messi has five goals in Argentina\u2019s first two matches, setting the record for career World Cup goals with 18. Mbapp\u00e9 has scored four times for France, moving into a tie for second with 16 goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeo always scores,\u201d Mbapp\u00e9 said. \u201cHe\u2019ll always score. If I want to look at what Leo\u2019s doing, I\u2019ll have to do even more.\u201d<\/p>\n
They are not alone in hitting the back of the net. Norway\u2019s Erling Haaland already has four in his country\u2019s first two games at the World Cup since 1998. And Portugal\u2019s Cristiano Ronaldo broke out with two goals against Uzbekistan on Tuesday to raise his career World Cup total to 10.<\/p>\n
But Messi and Mbapp\u00e9 are the maestros making this World Cup their personal symphony. It\u2019s one they\u2019ve been writing since the 2022 final in Qatar, when Messi scored twice and Mbapp\u00e9 three times before Argentina finally won on penalty kicks in a title game for the ages.<\/p>\n
There should be plenty of music still to come from both. Argentina and France have already clinched spots in the elimination rounds, and both are among the favorites to win the tournament. Messi has scored most of his World Cup goals at an age when most top scorers would be well past their prime.<\/p>\n He has 12 World Cup goals since he turned 35, and he will turn 39 on Wednesday, three days before Argentina plays its final group-stage match \u2014 against Jordan.<\/p>\n Messi, the former Barcelona icon who now plays for Inter Miami of Major League Soccer, still possesses exquisite touch and passing in traffic, and energy and stamina that carry him through an entire match.<\/p>\n His second goal against Austria came late. Messi passed to teammate Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez, whose shot was blocked. Messi chased the rebound and slid the shot through two defenders to seal a 2-0 victory.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew that he is on a level of his own, and Lionel Messi showed us today that he\u2019s one of the best, and he is the best,\u201d Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said.<\/p>\n Mbapp\u00e9 chasing Messi with every goal<\/strong><\/p>\n At 27, Mbapp\u00e9 is in his physical prime with the speed and power to chase Messi\u2019s record, not just in this tournament but likely for years to come.<\/p>\n He was just 19 when he led France to the 2018 World Cup title in Russia. With his goal against Croatia, he joined Pel\u00e9 as the only teenagers to score in a World Cup final.<\/p>\n Mbapp\u00e9 scored four goals in the in the 2018 tournament and has been on a charge ever since. The Real Madrid forward\u2019s speed haunts defenders and his power shooting with with both feet can overwhelm a goalkeeper.<\/p>\n He was the Golden Boot winner as the top scorer with eight goals in 2022. His 16 career World Cup goals match Miroslav Klose of Germany, one ahead of Brazil great Ronaldo.<\/p>\n Mbapp\u00e9 scores at a much higher rate than Messi. His 16 goals have come in 16 matches since 2018. Messi has played in 28 matches across six tournaments dating to 2006.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always scored goals in the World Cup, so it\u2019s not something I\u2019m thinking about or that I\u2019m worried about,\u201d Mbapp\u00e9 said. Norway\u2019s 6-foot-5 striker could be the biggest threat to Messi and Mbapp\u00e9 as the World Cup\u2019s top goal scorer if Norway can stay in the tournament long enough.<\/p>\n The 25-year-old Manchester City star has been one of the top strikers in Europe for several years and scored two goals in each of Norway\u2019s two victories.<\/p>\n Norway will meet Mbapp\u00e9 and France on the pitch Friday. Both teams have already advanced to the next round, and the winner of the match wins the group.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re through (to the next round), which is incredible,\u201d Haaland said. \u201cSo I couldn\u2019t care too much about that game now. They (France) are probably going to win against us, they\u2019re probably going to win the whole tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n Norway coach Stale Solbakken says Haaland is the player who can push the team deep into the tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is is the best striker,\u201d Solbakken said. \u201cHe\u2019s not playing for France or Argentina. He scores for Norway.\u201d<\/p>\n Mbapp\u00e9 disagreed. Only he didn\u2019t point at himself.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clear,\u201d Mbapp\u00e9 said. \u201c(Messi) is the best in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ARLINGTON (AP) – Lionel Messi has been mesmerizing. Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 has been, well, magnifique. Two of the biggest stars of the World Cup are setting records with history-making goals in a sizzling start that has even the most casual soccer fans in the U.S. taking notice. Messi has five goals in Argentina\u2019s first two matches, … Continue reading Messi and Mbapp\u00e9 romping through World Cup with dazzling display of history-making goals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1452],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1518018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":true,"date":"2026-06-26 11:04:29","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[0],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1518018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1518018"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1518018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1518019,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1518018\/revisions\/1518019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1518018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1518018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1518018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nMessi is defying age in a young man\u2019s game<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nHaaland making his mark in World Cup debut<\/strong><\/p>\n