WORLD CUP DIGEST: The Messi Show Begins, Mbappe or Olise & Vozinho's Exploding Insta

On today's 15-minute briefing:

Messi Makes History: The main event. Lionel Messi just does it again. He bagged a sensational hat-trick against Algeria and actually looks fitter now than he did during the 2022 run, even if he probably should have been sent off. He is now the joint-record World Cup goalscorer alongside Miroslav Klose with 16 goals. Can Argentina retain the trophy?

Mbappe's Aura & the Olise Show: Senegal are a seriously great side, and Nicolas Jackson is definitely a much better player than he ever gets credit for. Up front for France, Kylian Mbappe is undeniably an incredible player, but he has that somewhat unpalatable aura reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo. Is it because he feels threatened by the quiet star of Michael Olise?

Spain Stunned & Vozinha's Viral Boom: A completely mad result, and to be honest, I’m just not sure I'm having this Spanish side right now—they seem to completely lack a spark. Still, it's early days; Argentina lost their opener to Saudi Arabia in 2022 and went on to win the whole thing. The real story was Cape Verde keeper Vozinha. He was an absolute sensation and a total brick wall. His Instagram growth has been absolutely ridiculous, shooting up from around 50k to 7.6 million followers over the course of the game. Nice stuff.

Egypt Grind with Belgium: Mohamed Salah is looking a bit washed to me, suffering from the exact same issue as Sonny—two remarkably similar, elite players who have simply been run into the ground. Egypt looked like a thoroughly competent side, and while there's nothing to suggest this post-'golden generation' Belgium team are anything special.

Saudi Arabia's Minnow Myth: Another match completely defined by the shot-stoppers. Saudi keeper Mohammed Al-Owais was phenomenal, and I felt genuinely gutted for them when they finally conceded, though they at least held on for a well-deserved point against Uruguay. With the explosive growth of their domestic league and the financial focus from the PIF, you have to wonder how much longer we'll consider them a minnow nation.

Haaland Terrifies & Iraq's Disallowed Screamer: Antonio Nusa looked lovely out there, and I can completely see why Spurs have been heavily linked with him. As for Erling Haaland, it’s become so routine and almost boring to see him bag goals in the Premier League that the impact has faded a bit. But watching him on a completely different stage, terrifying a fresh set of international defenders, just reaffirms exactly how terrifyingly good he is. Meanwhile, Iraq scored an absolute screamer that was somehow not actually a goal.

Austria’s Vintage Bangers: Jordan and Austria treated us to a few absolute bangers, capped off by a great performance from Marko Arnautovic, who is still doing the business.

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