2026 FIFA World Cup Day 12 recap: Messi, Mbappé and Haaland pile more pressure on Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo must definitely be feeling the pressure now after his biggest rivals showed out on day 12 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

Just like matchday 1, Ronaldo will go into Portugal’s game with the pressure to perform hovering over him after Messi, Mbappé and Haaland all put on a show to fire their respective teams to impressive wins. 

Messi started the show as Argentina took on Austria before Mbappe joined the Party as France faced Iraq. 

Not to be left out, Haaland also replicated his matchday 1 performance as Norway faced Senegal, before Jordan and Algeria wrapped up the day’s action. 

Here’s a recap of how all the stars performed on another exciting day of World Cup action. 

It is official; Messi is now the all-time top scorer in World Cup history after scoring a brace in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria in Dallas on Monday. 

The Inter Miami star came into the clash with the chance to break Miroslav Klose’s record after his hat-trick in the opener against Algeria drew him level with the German legend. 

It was indeed a special occasion for Messi to write another chapter in his illustrious career, but it started on a wrong note after missing a penalty as early as the ninth minute. 

However, not to be denied, Messi finally broke Klose’s record in typical Messi fashion as he opened the scoring with a beautiful finish following a beautiful dummy from Thiago Almada. 

That goal put him on 17 World Cup goals, more than any other player in the history of the competition. 

However, while other players would have been satisfied with breaking the record, Messi was not done, as he extended his lead with another goal in the final minutes of the game. 

The former Barcelona star is now not only the World Cup all-time top scorer, but he also leads the Golden Boot race at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with five goals. 

Mbappé was the one who set the ball rolling on matchday 1, but he had to play catch-up on matchday 2. 

However, the performance was the same, as the Real Madrid star scored a brace to move up to four goals in this World Cup and go level with Klose in the all-time standings. 

Mbappé opened the scoring with a left-footed strike from outside the box to put France ahead before doubling the advantage in the 54th minute after adverse weather conditions had delayed the game for two hours. 

It was the perfect performance to celebrate his 100th cap for France. PSG star Ousmane Dembele then got on the act, as he scored the third to give Les Bleus a comfortable victory. 

The result secured France’s spot in the round of 32, while Iraq now need a miracle to reach the knockout round. 

What Messi and Mbappe can do, Haaland can do too. The Norwegian was not going to allow his rivals for the Golden Boot to outshine him, as he scored two goals in Norway’s 3-2 win over Senegal. 

Having beaten Iraq 4-1 in their opener, Norway knew the game against Senegal would most likely determine their qualification status, as they face France in their last group game. 

The Teranga Lions, meanwhile, needed to win after losing 3-2 to France in their opener on matchday 1. 

However, it was the Norwegians who went home with the three points, thanks to their Manchester City striker. The Vikings took the lead through Marcus Pedersen in the 43rd minute before Haaaland doubled the advantage three minutes after the break. 

Senegal did not give up, though, and they got rewarded through a goal from Ismaila Sarr in the 53rd minute. 

But just as it looked like the Teranga Lions were gaining momentum, Haaland scored his second of the game to restore his side’s two-goal lead.

Although Sarr’s second of the night in added minutes set up a nervy finish, Norway held on to book their spot in the round of 32 alongside France. 

Algeria bounced back from their 3-0 defeat against Argentina on matchday 1 to beat Jordan, keeping their qualification hopes alive. 

Goals from Nadir Benbouali and Amine Gouiri were enough to give the Desert Warriors a comeback win after Nizar Al-Rashdan had put Jordan ahead.

It was the first time in World Cup history that Algeria would come back from a goal down to win a match. With the win, Algeria moved level on points with Austria, with both teams facing each other in their final group game.