Messi Continues to Make History as Argentina Advance and France, Norway Qualify

Argentine legend Lionel Messi continued to rewrite football history after leading his country to the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Austria, scoring a brace that further cemented his status as the tournament’s all-time leading goalscorer.

All eyes were on Messi just two days before his 39th birthday. He nearly opened the scoring early on from a penalty won by Lautaro Martínez, but surprisingly sent his effort wide of the target in a rare miss that stunned fans.

However, the Argentine superstar quickly made amends. Taking advantage of a lapse in the Austrian defense, Messi opened the scoring in the 38th minute, bringing his World Cup tally to 17 goals and moving ahead of German legend Miroslav Klose as the outright top scorer in tournament history.

As Austria pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages, Messi struck again in stoppage time to seal Argentina’s victory. The goal took his World Cup total to 18 and his tally in the current tournament to five, strengthening his position at the top of the Golden Boot race.

The win lifted Argentina to six points, securing both qualification and top spot in Group J following Jordan’s defeat to Algeria in the group’s other match.

Algeria Win Historic Arab Clash

In the first all-Arab encounter of the group stage, Algeria came from behind to defeat Jordan 2-1 at Santa Clara Stadium.

Jordan were the better side in the first half and deservedly took the lead through Nizar Al-Rashdan in the 36th minute, keeping alive their hopes of securing a first-ever World Cup victory.

But Algeria showed great character after the break. Substitute Nadhir Bouali equalised in the 69th minute before Amine Gouiri scored the winner in the 82nd minute, earning the Desert Warriors a crucial three points and keeping their qualification hopes alive.

The result moved Algeria onto three points, level with Austria, setting up a decisive final-round showdown between the two sides for the second qualification spot behind Argentina.

Jordan, making their first-ever appearance at the World Cup finals, were officially eliminated after suffering their second consecutive defeat.

Mbappé Keeps Delivering

In Group I, Kylian Mbappé produced another outstanding display as he led France to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Iraq in a match that was interrupted for nearly two hours due to severe thunderstorms and adverse weather conditions, forcing the evacuation of spectators.

Mbappé scored twice in the 14th and 54th minutes before Ousmane Dembélé added a third in the 66th minute, taking France to six points and securing qualification for the knockout stage.

The French captain also reached 16 World Cup goals, equalling Miroslav Klose’s tally.

In the group’s other match, Norway confirmed their strength by booking their place in the next round with an exciting 3-2 victory over Senegal.

Erling Haaland was once again the star of the show, scoring twice to further boost his tournament tally and reinforce his status as one of the leading contenders for the Golden Boot.

With both France and Norway having already qualified, their upcoming final group-stage meeting will determine the group winner. France need only a draw to remain top, while Norway must win to claim first place.