World Cup Daily: Messi and Mbappé send Argentina, France into knockout stage

Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland once again emerged as the standout performers, continuing their remarkable scoring form at the tournament.

In Group J, defending champions Argentina defeated Austria 2-0 to secure qualification for the knockout rounds. Lionel Messi missed an early penalty but responded in style, scoring in the 38th minute before adding a second goal deep into stoppage time. The brace took the Argentine captain to 18 FIFA World Cup goals, extending his record as the tournament's all-time leading scorer after surpassing the previous mark of 16 goals held by German legend Miroslav Klose.

Later in the same group, Algeria came from behind to defeat Jordan 2-1 and keep their qualification hopes alive. Nizar Alrashdan gave Jordan the lead, but Nadhir Benbouali equalized with a header from a Riyad Mahrez corner before Amine Gouiri scored the winner from close range.

Group I began with France's 3-0 victory over Iraq in a match interrupted by heavy rain for nearly two hours. Kylian Mbappé scored twice, while Ousmane Dembélé added a late third goal as Les Bleus secured their second consecutive win and a place in the round of 32.

Norway then joined France in the knockout stage after defeating Senegal 3-2 in one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament. Marcus Pedersen opened the scoring before Erling Haaland struck twice. Ismaïla Sarr scored both of Senegal's goals, but the Africans ultimately fell short.

After two rounds of matches, Argentina top Group J with six points, while France and Norway have both secured qualification from Group I with six points each.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Spain returned to winning ways with a commanding 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia, while Egypt secured the first FIFA World Cup win in the nation's history by defeating New Zealand 3-1.