World Cup 2026 So Far: Records Tumble as the Stars Light Up the Group Stage

Five days into the first 48-team World Cup, the tournament has already given us records, romance and a goal glut. The biggest names have announced themselves, the debutants have refused to be overawed, and the football has been relentlessly entertaining. Here is where things stand as the opening round of group games winds down.

The headline belongs to Lionel Messi. In Kansas City he scored the first World Cup hat-trick of his career — strikes in the 17th, 60th and 76th minutes — as Argentina swept past Algeria 3-0. The treble drew the 38-year-old level with Miroslav Klose on 16 goals as the competition's all-time leading scorer, on what was his sixth World Cup, a record in itself. The defending champions look every bit the part.

Messi was not the only superstar to deliver on the same day. Kylian Mbappé scored twice as France beat Senegal 3-1, with Bradley Barcola adding the other and Mbappé's late long-range strike sealing it; the brace also moved him to the top of France's all-time scoring charts. In Norway's long-awaited return, Erling Haaland struck twice in a 4-1 win over Iraq. Three of the planet's best forwards, three statement performances, one afternoon.

Then there was the shock that defined the week. Cape Verde, playing their first World Cup match, held Spain to a 0-0 draw in Atlanta, with 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha making around seven saves to repel some 27 Spanish shots. The European champions could not find a way through even after introducing Lamine Yamal, and the islanders earned a historic point that no one on the islands will forget.

The debutants and underdogs have been a recurring theme. Jordan made their own World Cup bow before Austria edged them 3-1, and in a politically charged Group G meeting, Iran and New Zealand played out a thrilling 2-2 draw — Elijah Just scoring twice for the All Whites before Iran levelled to leave the group finely balanced. The expanded format is delivering exactly the broader cast of nations it promised.

Goals have been the through-line. The tournament has been notably high-scoring across its opening fixtures, with the co-hosts setting the tone: Mexico and the United States both opened with convincing wins, the USMNT's emphatic victory over Paraguay among the most eye-catching of the lot. Attacking football has been rewarded, and cagey openers have been the exception rather than the rule.

If there is a tactical lesson already, it is the one this column keeps returning to: the distance between the seeded sides and the rest is shrinking. Spain's stalemate, Iran's draw and the spirited debuts all point to a tournament where reputation guarantees nothing and organisation travels a long way. The favourites are mostly winning, but they are being made to work.

For anyone weighing up the outright and group markets, the early signal is to respect the form of the heavyweights — Argentina, France and the in-form forwards look the part — while staying wary of backing them to win at a canter. The margins have been thin, and the underdogs have shown they will bite. It is, in short, exactly the World Cup neutrals hoped the expanded format would produce.