2026 FIFA World Cup Day 6 recap: Messi, Mbappé, Haaland make history as Milla’s record is broken

The superstars came to play as the 2026 FIFA World Cup action continued on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. 

France kicked off the day’s action against Senegal, with Mbappe showing why he remains Les Bleus MVP. 

Not to be outshone by Mbappe, Haaland also balled out on his World Cup debut for Norway in their win over Iraq. 

However, the biggest performance of the day was from Messi, who helped Argentina start their defence on a brilliant note. 

The day’s action then wrapped up with Austria’s clash against Jordan in the early hours of Wednesday morning. 

Here’s a recap of how everything went down on day 6. 

France kicked off their World Cup campaign against Senegal, with all eyes on Mbappe going into the clash. 

The Real Madrid striker already has a superb World Cup career, but he went into the game knowing he could break Giroud’s record as France’s record goalscorer, which he did exactly. 

It was not easy at first, though, as Mbappe and France struggled to break down a talented Senegalese team in the first half. 

However, the two-time world champions turned on the screw in the second half, as Mbappé opened the scoring in the 66th minute with a clever finish following a perfectly weighted ball from the ever-impressive Michael Olise. 

Mbappé’s goal drew him level with Giroud as France’s record goalscorer and also gave Les Bleus the confidence to go for more. 

Substitute Bradley Barcola doubled France’s lead in the 82nd minute to wrap up the victory, but Senegal did not go away easily, as Ibrahim Mbaye pulled one back in added time. 

However, Senegal’s little hope of getting something from the match vanished completely, as Mbappe scored his second of the game with a brilliant stunner to break Giroud’s record and help Les Bleus start their campaign with a win. 

After Mabppe’s performance, the onus was on Haaland to deliver for Norway on his World Cup debut, and he did just that. 

The Manchester City striker opened the scoring for the Norwegians in the 29th minute, but Ayman Hussein restored parity for Iraq ten minutes later. 

However, Haaland scored his second goal of the game two minutes before halftime to put Norway back in the lead. 

His second goal makes him the fourth player in this World Cup, after Folarin Balogun, Yasin Ayari and Elijah Just, to score a brace in their first World Cup game. 

Haaland’s brace gave the Vikings more confidence to approach the second half, as Leo Ostigard’s and an own goal from Hussein secured a comfortable win for them. 

With Mbappe and Haaland showing out, it was the turn of Messi to join the party, and he gave the biggest performance of them all. 

The Inter Miami star scored a hat-trick to help Argentina kick off their World Cup defence with a comfortable 3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas City. 

Messi got the party rolling with a trademark finish in the 17th minute before tapping home a rebound on the hour mark after Luca Zidane fumbled Alexis Mac Allister’s shot. 

The former Barcelona No. 10 then completed his hat-trick with another trademark finish in the 76th minute to help Argentina to a comfortable win. 

With his hat-trick, Messi equalled and broke a lot of records, including the record for the oldest player to score a brace in a World Cup match, breaking Roger Milla’s record. 

He also became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup game, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s record. 

Finally, he equalled Miroslav Klose’s record as the World Cup’s all-time record goalscorer and will most likely move ahead in this tournament. 

Jordan made their World Cup debut, but despite their spirited performance, they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Austria.

Romano Schmid put the Austrians ahead with a brilliant finish in the 21st minute, but Ali Olwan restored parity to score Jordan’s first World Cup goal. 

However, that was it for the Al-Nashama, as an own goal from Yazan Al-Arab and Marko Arnautovic’s late penalty sealed the win for Austria.