Mbappé breaks France record, Messi ties World Cup history + what we’re watching this weekend

⚽ We’re in for a footie-packed long weekend — starting tonight with Groups K and L. Portugal kicks things off at 8pm, facing DR Congo at Houston Stadium. Then the pick of the evening: England vs. Croatia at 11pm at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas — a rematch of the 2018 semifinal, which Croatia had snagged 2-1. Later tonight, Ghana vs. Panama at 2am and Uzbekistan vs. Colombia at 5am.

💡 NOTE- All World Cup matches will be broadcast on beIN Sports Max 1 and 2.

What we’re watching this long weekend

Groups A and B return to action Thursday night into Friday morning, starting with Czechia facing off South Africa at 7pm, followed by Switzerland vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina at 10pm, Canada vs. Qatar at 1am Friday, and Mexico vs. South Korea at 4am.

On Friday, the US play their second game against Australia at 10pm, Scotland face Morocco at 1am Saturday, and Brazil take on Haiti at 3:30am. Saturday evening will see the big guns take the field, with the Netherlands vs. Sweden at 8pm in Houston, Germany vs. Ivory Coast at 11pm in Toronto, Ecuador vs. Curaçao — who we’ll admit we’re rooting for — at 3am Sunday, and Tunisia vs. Japan at 7am.

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Last night was one for the books. France edged Senegal 3-1 in what turned into a breathless finish in New Jersey — all three French goals came in the second half after a flat 45 minutes. Mbappé broke the deadlock in the 66th minute with a first-time finish from Michael Olise’s defense-splitting pass, then Bradley Barcola came off the bench to make it 2-0 in the 82nd.

Senegal hit back through 18-year-old substitute Ibrahim Mbaye in the 90th minute — the youngest African scorer in World Cup history — only for Mbappé to immediately blast in a stunning long-range strike in the 96th minute, sealing the victory and making him France’s all-time top scorer with 58 goals. Two goals in two minutes of stoppage time turned the game on its head just after Senegal thought they were back in it.

Norway’s Erling Haaland then scored twice on his World Cup debut — Norway having last appeared at the tournament in 1998, two years before he was born — as they put four past Iraq in Boston. The night’s headline act, though, was Messi: the Argentina captain scored the first World Cup hat trick of his career, leading the defending champions to a 3-0 victory over Algeria in Kansas City and tying Miroslav Klose’s all-time record of 16 World Cup goals.

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