World Cup Daily: Messi with a historic hat trick; Mbappé and Haaland also score - ESPN

The 2026 World Cup has already seen stars such as Lamine Yamal, Vinícius Júnior and Virgil van Dijk. Day 6, though, saw more headliners enter the fray.

Kicking off the action were France and Senegal in New Jersey, where Kylian Mbappé netted a brace in Les Bleus' 3-1 win. After that, Erling Haaland made his World Cup debut against Iraq in Boston and did not disappoint, scoring two goals in a 4-1 win.

Argentina got their title defense underway against Algeria in a 3-0 win in Kansas City, where a certain Lionel Messi scored a hat trick and his 16th goal at the World Cup, tying Miroslav Klose for most all time. Finally, World Cup debutants Jordan lost 3-1 in their late game against Austria.

Group stage World Cup days rarely get better than this.

Enjoy all the features, news, video analysis and color from around the competition.