Kylian Mbappe’s Dramatic Comeback and Other Highlights from Day Six
For 66 minutes, it seemed like everything was going wrong for Kylian Mbappe. As France struggled in their Group I opener against Senegal, the forward’s first touch was sloppy, and he was denied what everyone except the officials thought was a penalty. However, Mbappe soon came to life, scoring two stunning goals to ensure a successful start for Didier Deschamps’ title contenders.
Despite the defeat, Senegal’s impressive performance added pressure on Norway to win against underdog Iraq in the group’s later match. Norway delivered, thanks to another outstanding performance by Erling Haaland, who scored a brace on his tournament debut.
Argentina and Lionel Messi also began their defense of the title they won four years ago in an exciting contest against Algeria. The first competitive match between the two nations started with two disallowed goals within the opening 10 minutes. Messi then took center stage, scoring a stunning opener, a second-half tap-in, and a delightful third goal to boost his World Cup tally and kick off Argentina’s quest for another title in style.
Here is everything you need to know from day six of the super-sized tournament:
Mbappe Double Follows First Major VAR Controversy
Kylian Mbappe became France’s all-time record goalscorer with his double in New Jersey. However, a decision not to award him a penalty when the match was scoreless sparked controversy. According to the BBC’s resident official Darren Cann, several referees questioned the decision.
Iranian-Australian referee Alireza Faghani initially gave a corner but changed his mind to a goal-kick after watching replays. Mbappe had dribbled into the box where Senegal’s Sadio Mane slid in for a tackle. As Mane reached Mbappe, the French captain touched the ball away and then collapsed under Mane’s challenge.
Referee Faghani reviewed the decision on his pitchside monitor with the help of the VAR. When he returned to the pitch, French players and coaching staff began to celebrate. Instead of awarding a penalty, Faghani announced, “The attacker initiated the contact.”
Partey Loses Canada Visa Appeal
Thomas Partey will miss Ghana’s match against Panama after a Canadian court dismissed his appeal against being denied entry. The 33-year-old had been refused a visa by the Canadian government, prompting his legal team to launch a last-minute challenge at the Federal Court in Ottawa.
The Black Stars face Panama in their Group L match in Toronto on Wednesday. In dismissing the appeal, judge Roger Lafreniere stated that Partey sought “extraordinary, mandatory interlocutory relief” that would have required Canada to set aside a “lawfully rendered inadmissibility finding and facilitate his entry for a specific event.”
Former Arsenal midfielder Partey denies seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault, relating to allegations by four different women between 2020 and 2022, and is due to stand trial next year.
Injured Livramento Replaced by Chalobah
Trevoh Chalobah has been called up to replace the injured Tino Livramento in England’s World Cup squad. Livramento’s calf injury is an early blow for Thomas Tuchel’s preparations for the tournament, coming just one day before the Three Lions’ opener against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday.
Tuchel was able to replace Newcastle full-back Livramento in the squad with a deadline of 9pm BST on Tuesday – 24 hours before England’s first game of the tournament – and Chelsea defender Chalobah was on his way to the United States on Tuesday. Chalobah will not be involved against Croatia, but will be available for subsequent group matches against Ghana and Panama.
Haaland Scores Double on Near-Perfect World Cup Debut
After seeing Mbappe run riot against Senegal, this generation’s other star striker clearly thought, “Anything you can do, I can do better.” Making his World Cup debut, Erling Haaland scored twice in the first half as Norway beat a spirited Iraqi side 4-1 to end the first matchday top of Group I.
The 25-year-old is already Norway’s record goalscorer, now with 57 goals in 51 caps, and it looks like he and Mbappe will be fighting for the tournament’s Golden Boot. He only had 11 touches in the first half – the fewest of any player on the pitch – but two of them were goals. The first was a tap-in from a Moller Wolfe cutback, and the second came at close range as the Manchester City striker closed down Iraq keeper Jalal Hassan, who dawdled on the ball after a poor backpass by Zaid Tahseen and paid the price.
He missed a second-half chance for a hat-trick, too, and was narrowly denied an assist as he headed the ball across goal for Kristian Thorstvedt to bundle home Norway’s fourth on the night – but the strike was marked down as an Aymen Hussein own goal.
Magic Messi Equals Klose’s Record
Algeria were warned. A dainty pass slipped into the right side of the penalty area by Lautaro Martinez played Lionel Messi in on goal, and he routinely found the back of the net by beating Luca Zidane on his near side. The crowd inside the Kansas City Stadium erupted in cheers only for the celebrations to get cut short as the football legend was ruled offside.
It was a chance taken just five minutes into Argentina’s World Cup opener and looked as though the 38-year-old had picked up exactly where he left off when winning the tournament four years ago. But it was not to be, and Messi had to wait a further 12 minutes before making his mark on the 2026 edition of the World Cup.
Supplied by his close teammate Rodrigo de Paul, the little master spun towards goal before drawing a stunning effort from left-to-right, through the hands of Zidane and into the top, right corner with the pinpoint accuracy of his heydays. It is the type of goal that reminds the World Cup hopefuls that Messi may be heading into the twilight of his career but he retains all the prowess and skill of his younger self and, perhaps most importantly, the desire to achieve wonders on the biggest stage of all.
A second goal of the game came from a fortuitous tap-in before a slick move late in the second half set him up for a driving finish that takes him to 16 goals across his six World Cup tournaments. That puts him level with record holder Miroslav Klose, who he will surely surpass before this tournament is done.
Austria Deny Jordan Debut Point
An own goal and a late Marko Arnautovic penalty denied Jordan a dream debut point as they fell short to Austria in their World Cup opener. Romano Schmidt had given Austria the lead in the first half, but that was canceled out by Ali Olwan, who expertly bent home to score Jordan’s first ever goal at a World Cup finals.
But there was heartbreak to come for the debutants, with Yazan Al Arab putting into his own net with 14 minutes to play to give Austria a lifeline, before Arnautovic converted from the spot with the last kick of the game to seal the win.
