Tuesday's World Cup Superstars: Messi, Mbappé, Haaland Highlight Interesting Matches
June 17, 2026 · Global
The 2026 World Cup features a stellar lineup with matches including France vs. Senegal and Norway vs. Iraq, highlighting players such as Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.
Tuesday was one of the most stellar days in the group phase of the 2026 World Cup. Kylian Mbappé and France opened the day by facing one of Africa's best teams, Senegal. The second match features Erling Haaland and Norway who begin their tournament journey against Iraq. Then, Lionel Messi and Argentina began their title defense against an Algerian team who entered the tournament in good form. Finally, one of Europe's most improved teams, Austria, will hope to continue to impress in their opener against Jordan. Here's everything you need to know for the big day. Group I begins on Tuesday when pre-match favorites France open their World Cup at New Jersey's New York Stadium with a tough test against one of Africa's best teams Senegal. France has incredible depth and talent in every position and the team's hope is to win every trophy possible. However, the team failed in their last two major tournaments. In the 2022 World Cup final, France lost to Argentina on penalties. At Euro 2024, France was eliminated by eventual champions, Spain, with a score of 2-1 in the semifinals. Under coach Didier Deschamps, France went through World Cup qualifying without losing, scoring 16 goals and conceding 4 goals in six matches. Kylian Mbappé is aiming for a third consecutive World Cup final appearance. It's hard to find a weakness in this French team as Ibrahima Konaté and William Lintasa are possibly the best centre-back pairing in this tournament. The midfield trio of Aurelien Tchouameni, N’Golo Kante and Adrien Rabiot have all proven themselves at the highest level. And the front line consists of Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé, who recently won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain, as well as Kylian Mbappé, who is one of the best strikers of his generation. Even with all that talent, there are some concerns. France were shocked by Ivory Coast in their first World Cup warm-up in Nantes as the African nation dismantled the French defense with fine passes to claim a 2-1 win. France then won their final World Cup warm-up against Northern Ireland 3-1 but were not sharp. Coached by Pape Thiaw (who spent most of his playing career in France), Senegal will not be an easy game for France. Currently, Senegal is ranked 15th in the latest FIFA rankings, and also qualified for this World Cup without losing. Sadio Mané, 34, is not the same player he was ten years ago, but he is still a dangerous striker. Winger Nicholas Jackson is also a high-level forward having recently won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, while on loan from Chelsea. However, there is a lot of depth in this Senegal team, and 20 of the 26 players played in Europe's top five leagues last season. Kylian Mbappé: Considered one of the best players of his generation, the French forward is on many experts' short lists to win the World Cup Golden Ball or Golden Boot, or both. A common criticism of Mbappé in recent years has been his goal-scoring efficiency, as he often squanders many chances despite still scoring goals in large numbers. This happened in two of France's friendly matches ahead of the World Cup. He took six shots against Northern Ireland and scored no goals. Against Ivory Coast, he only had one shot saved. Mbappé could use his strong start to this World Cup to get into a rhythm heading into the knockout stages. But if he continues to play without scoring, frustration may set in. The second match of the day takes us to Boston Stadium as Norway takes on Iraq in the Group I opener for both teams. All eyes will be on Norway in this match. Currently, Norway is ranked 31st in the FIFA rankings, and the last time they appeared in the World Cup was in 1998. The last time they participated in the European Championship was in 2000. Despite not being relevant on the international stage for more than two decades, Norway is bringing a very talented team to the 2026 World Cup and has the potential to make a deep run. Norway was the most dominant team in UEFA World Cup qualifying, winning all eight games in a group containing Italy, Israel, Estonia and Moldova with a goal difference of 37-5. Erling Haaland is one of the best center forwards in the world. In his club career in the top division (with Molde, Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City), Haaland has scored 297 goals in 364 games in all competitions. For the Norwegian national team, he has scored 55 goals in 50 appearances. However, Norway brought a fantastic support team to this World Cup. Martin Ødegaard is the captain of Norway and Arsenal, who have just won the Premier League. RB Leipzig midfielder Antonio Nusa, 21, is one of the best young players in the tournament. Fulham's Oscar Bobb is a dynamic winger after the London club paid £27m to Manchester City for him in January. While many believe Norway can make a deep run in the knockout stages of this World Cup, a potential concern is the team's ability to survive the American summer heat. Currently, Iraq are ranked 57th in the world in the latest FIFA rankings and are heavy underdogs in every one of their Group I matches. Australian coach Graham Arnold has done a fantastic job with Iraq after taking over in 2025 when the team was in poor form. However, Arnold dramatically improved the team to qualify with a 2–1 intercontinental playoff win over Bolivia.