Mbappé, Haaland, and Messi Unleashed. What Do the Stats Say? One Reached the Absolute Peak!

It was arguably the pinnacle of the ongoing World Cup. Within a few hours, three giants of contemporary football (and beyond) graced the American pitches. Their very first appearances in this year's tournament were elevated to absolute masterclasses. They simply stole the day for themselves.

That Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Lionel Messi were named the stars of their respective matches probably surprises no one. We took a look at what the numbers say.

Kylian Mbappé was the first to take the stage, with his two goals significantly contributing to France's 3-1 victory over Senegal. According to the renowned statistical portal SofaScore, his two precise strikes came from an Expected Goals (xG) factor of 0.76. This means that, by this metric, even one of Mbappé's goals would have exceeded realistic expectations.

He registered four shots in total, all on target. He had 37 touches of the ball, 14 turnovers, and attempted six dribbles, only one of which was successful. It's clear that for the French forward in this instance, the most important takeaway is his two goals. He received an overall rating of 8.1.

Erling Haaland also earned the same SofaScore rating of 8.1. He had two goals to his name by halftime in Norway's match against Iraq, which the Norwegians ultimately dominated with a convincing 4-1 win.

Haaland's xG of 1.85 was more aligned with his actual goal tally in the match. He attempted five shots, with four on target. His reputation as a penalty box assassin was further cemented by creating two additional big chances that he failed to convert. Overall, he wasn't heavily involved in the play. Throughout the entire match, he had only 20 touches of the ball and attempted one dribble, which was successful.

Although the bar was set high, Lionel Messi, who played last, ultimately became the king of the day. SofaScore awarded the hat-trick hero the highest possible rating – a perfect ten – for his performance in Argentina's 3-0 victory over Algeria!

Even Messi, despite his three goals, didn't have an astronomically high xG of 1.05. He threatened Luca, Zinedine Zidane's son, in the Algerian goal with six shots, four of which were on target. The Argentine superstar also impressed with his active play in midfield. Among the three players analyzed, he had by far the most touches of the ball – 57. He attempted two dribbles and had 15 turnovers.

In the 80th minute, Lionel Messi could calmly leave the field to a thunderous ovation, making way for substitute Nico Paz. At nearly 39 years old, he became the oldest hat-trick scorer in World Cup history and, with a total of 16 goals, drew level with Germany's Miroslav Klose at the top of the all-time scoring charts. Kylian Mbappé is currently on 14 goals, surpassing Just Fontaine's French record for now.