2026 World Cup: Messi and Mbappé in the race for goals, Ronaldo under pressure to deliver

Led by braces from their superstars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, who are battling for the top scorer title, France and Argentina took their way to the round of 16 of the World Cup on Monday, a tournament that Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal must finally kick off on Tuesday.

To the genius of the Argentinian captain - now the sole top scorer in World Cup history with 18 goals - the Real Madrid star responded by finding the net twice to bring his total to 16, in a match that will go down in history for having been interrupted for more than two hours due to thunderstorms raging over Philadelphia.

After a disappointing first match against DR Congo (1-1) and a growing debate about his place in the national team at 41 years old, CR7 must respond to the criticism against Uzbekistan (17:00 GMT) and help his team get back on track in the race for qualification, which Harry Kane's England can secure against Ghana (20:00 GMT).

Mbappé/Messi, the ongoing saga

After episode 1, a first day where Mbappé became the top scorer in the history of the French team before Messi became the top scorer in the history of the World Cup, the two giants of world football continued their breathtaking long-distance duel on Monday.

For his 100th appearance for France against Iraq, nothing fazed Mbappé. Not even the thunderstorms that hit Philadelphia, sending the 22 players back to the locker room for a halftime delay of more than two hours, while the 70,000 spectators at Lincoln Financial Field were asked to take refuge in the stadium concourses.

Having scored in the first half with a magnificent curling shot (14th), the Real Madrid striker found the back of the net again almost three hours later, taking advantage of a blunder by the Iraqi defense (54th) to launch Les Bleus towards a victory (3-0) which meant qualification for the 16th.

Scoring his 15th and 16th World Cup goals in just three appearances, Mbappé remains in contact with Messi, who earlier became the sole top scorer in World Cup history with 18 goals, two ahead of Germany's Miroslav Klose.

During the victory against Austria (2-0), which qualified Argentina for the next round, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner scored twice to bring his total to five goals in this 2026 World Cup, which is all of the Albiceleste's goals.

This new feat comes 40 years to the day after another legendary brace, by another legendary "Diez". On June 22, 1986, the eternal Diego Maradona scored the "Hand of God" and then the "Goal of the Century" in four minutes in the quarter-finals of the Mexican World Cup against England at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

CR7, the tension

While the age-related discussions surrounding Lionel Messi, who is approaching his 39th birthday, seem to have died down, Portugal is abuzz with the Cristiano Ronaldo situation. The national icon's first disappointing match, after scoring 143 goals in 229 appearances, has reignited a heated debate about his place in the Seleção, a team with other strengths to offer, at 41 years old.

Against Uzbekistan on Tuesday, CR7 will have the opportunity to silence his critics and repay his coach Roberto Martinez for the faith he has placed in him. "This is his sixth World Cup, he's a player who has defended his country and played for it for a long time, he really wants to continue to improve, to help the team, and he's truly a role model for us," Martinez reminded everyone on Monday.

If Portugal needs to win to get back into the qualification race before facing Colombia, another poor performance from the five-time Ballon d'Or winner would raise the risk of seeing him relegated to the bench, as during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Kane, the qualification

After a convincing start to the competition against Croatia (4-2), Harry Kane's England can qualify with a victory in Boston against Ghana.

Having scored twice against Croatia, the Bayern Munich striker will have to find the back of the net again if he wants to keep up with Messi, Mbappé and also Erling Haaland, who scored a second brace in two matches on Tuesday against Senegal (3-2) to qualify Norway for the 16th round.

The other Group L match will offer Croatia the opportunity to bounce back, against Panama (23:00 GMT), for the 200th cap of the ageless Luka Modric, 40 years old.

In Portugal's Group K, Colombia can secure qualification with a victory against DR Congo (02:00 GMT).