The opening round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage saw football’s biggest stars arrive in style. Lionel Messi struck a sensational hat-trick for Argentina, while Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane all scored braces for their respective nations. Yet when asked to rank himself alongside those names, Mbappe had no hesitation in placing Messi at the very top — while also making sure to include his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, despite the Portugal captain’s difficult start to the tournament.
Speaking ahead of France’s second group-stage match against Iraq in Philadelphia, Mbappe was asked to pick the best player among himself, Messi, Haaland and Kane. The French captain immediately chose the Argentine legend, who had scored the first World Cup hat-trick of his career in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria. The treble also drew Messi level with Miroslav Klose’s all-time men’s World Cup scoring record of 16 goals.
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“The best of the four players? Lionel Messi,” Mbappe said with a laugh, without needing a second to think.
He then broadened the discussion to include Ronaldo, who came under scrutiny after failing to score in Portugal’s shock 1-1 draw against DR Congo.
“It’s clear. He’s the best in the world with Cristiano [Ronaldo], it’s clear.
“He’s shown for 15 years that he has amazing quality. Me, I just try to do what I can do, show my quality on the biggest stage and help my team win another World Cup.
“The rest is a debate for the people, the journalists and the fans. It’s good to debate who is the best and who performs better, but for me, it’s not a question in my head. It’s only about how I can help my team.”
France and Argentina will both be in action on Monday, with Messi and Mbappe continuing their pursuit of World Cup history. While Messi needs just one more goal to become the tournament’s outright leading scorer, Mbappe is closing in rapidly. The France forward currently has 14 goals from only 15 World Cup appearances, leaving him just two behind the Argentine.
“I already knew Messi was going to keep scoring goals,” Mbappe continued. “He always does. He’s ahead of me and I’m behind him. I’ll keep scoring to help my national team go as far as possible.
“When you score goals, you have a better chance of going far, and I want to win the World Cup.”
