The fireworks are lighting up the World Cup skies once more as Lionel Messi etches his name in history books with an unforgettable double salvo against Austria! The 38-year-old maestro, who celebrates a birthday tomorrow, showed why he's still the king of the beautiful game, helping Argentina to a 2-0 win and cementing his position as the tournament's all-time leading scorer. What a moment for this football legend!
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappé was unstoppable too, netting twice against Belgium to take his World Cup tally to an impressive 16 goals at just 27 years young – a feat that puts him joint-second with the legendary Miroslav Klose! Erling Haaland also weighed in with two strikes for Norway as they edged past Australia. What a day of drama and high-scoring action!
But tonight, it's back to business for Thomas Tuchel's England team, who face Ghana in Group L seeking redemption after their narrow win against Croatia last week. And what a challenge awaits them! The Black Stars were toothless in attack against Panama, failing to land a single shot on goal in the first half. It's crunch time for Tuchel and his troops!
As Argentina celebrated Messi's milestone, coach Lionel Scaloni hailed his star player: 'He scored again. We suffered at times today and created difficulties. When Leo becomes active, everyone activates.'