Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
It was a round of records.
We are still in the first round of matches at the biggest FIFA World Cup ever, as 48 nations are fighting to be the ones to lift the trophy after the final whistle of the tournament.
So, if you had something else to do (like sleeping…) last night, here is a recap of what happened in the four matches played.
France 3 – 1 Senegal
One of the favourites to lift the trophy struggled in the first half, but after halftime, the French stars proved why they are as highly rated as they are.
Superstar Kylian Mbappé scored two of France’s goals, with his second being an early contender for Goal of the Tournament — a screamer from distance.
The two goals bring Mbappé’s total World Cup tally to 14, two behind record holder Miroslav Klose (and Messi after this round).
Iraq 1 – 4 Norway
Norway is back in the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 28 years (the last time they qualified was for the 1998 World Cup), and they showed that they deserve to be here.
After a nervous first half, the Norwegians exploded into life, with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland scoring two goals.
Argentina 3 – 0 Algeria
Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. The discussion over which of these two gentlemen is the best player of the last two decades (perhaps even of all time) will probably never reach a consensus, but Messi certainly made a statement in Argentina’s World Cup opener.
The Argentine wizard scored a hat-trick in his 200th appearance for the Argentine national team, tying Miroslav Klose’s record as the all-time highest-scoring player in FIFA World Cup history with 16 goals.
Additionally, the 200th appearance on the team was adding to the record of most matches for the Argentine national team, already held by Messi, and the three goals brings his total national goals to 120, more than double the second player on the
Austria 3 – 1 Jordan
Jordan made their first-ever World Cup appearance when they faced Austria in a tense and dramatic match.
Austria took the lead after 20 minutes before Jordan equalised five minutes into the second half.
After 76 minutes of play, Austria scored again, but after a review, it was determined that a Jordanian player had scored an own goal.
Twelve minutes into injury time, Austria put the final nail in the coffin by converting a penalty.
