It was a day for stars at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland broke multiple records.
France kicked things off with a 3-1 win over Senegal that saw Mbappé grab a brace, as they extracted revenge for the 0-1 defeat in the 2002 World Cup.
Norway then romped to a 4-1 win over Iraq, which was the first defeat for an Asian side in the competition so far, as Erling Haaland grabbed a brace.
Lionel Messi then scored his first-ever World Cup hat trick as Argentina began their title defence with a 3-0 win over Algeria.
Austria and Jordan ended the day as Ralf Rangnick's side came out on top with a 3-1 win.
ESPN's By The Numbers brings you best stats from the World Cup action on June 16:
France 3 - 1 Senegal
14
Kylian Mbappé scored his14th World Cup goal with France, breaking Just Fontaine's all-time record for the nation (13). Overall, he is now tied with Gerd Müller all-time, behind only Lionel Messi (16), Miroslav Klose (16) and Ronaldo Nazario (15).
15
Adding his 1 goal in the Euros, Mbappé also overtook Michel Platini for most major-tournament goals by a Frenchman (15).
58
Mbappé now has 58 international goals, surpassing Olivier Giroud's France national team record of 57.
32
Mbappé's second goal was from 29 meters/32 yards, making it the farthest of his 14 World Cup goals.
12
Mbappé has 12 goals in the second half of World Cup matches, extending his record in the men or women's tournament (has 1 goal in first half of such matches, 1 in extra time).
5
Mbappé now has the most multi-goal games at the men's World Cup (5). Marta has 5 multi-goal games at the Women's World Cup.
3
Mbappé became the third player to score for France in three different FIFA World Cup editions (2018, 2022 and 2026), joining Michel Platini and Dominique Rocheteau, who both achieved the feat between 1978 and 1986.
18y 143d
At 18 years 143 days, Senegal's Ibrahim Mbaye became the youngest African scorer at the FIFA World Cup and the second-youngest player to score on his debut in the competition after Spain's Gavi (18yrs 110d) in 2022.
23y 287d
Bradley Barcola (23y-287d) is the youngest Frenchman to score on his FIFA World Cup debut since Thierry Henry (20y-299d) in June 1998.
12/13
Senegal have conceded goals in 12 of thier 13 matches at the FIFA World Cup.
29y 111d
With an average of 29y 111d, Senegal named their oldest starting XI for a FIFA World Cup game.
Iraq 1 - 4 Norway
2 in 20
Erling Haaland scored 2 goals from 20 touches in his World Cup debut and became the first player to score a brace for Norway in WC history.
2 in 1
Haaland tied Kjetil Rekdal (1 goal each in 1994 and 1998) for the most goals in Norway World Cup history.
11 and 47
Haaland extended his competitive scoring streak for Norway to 11 games dating back to Nov. 2024 (21 goals in that span). Overall he has 47 goals in 39 competitive matches for Norway.
15
Norway are on a 15-game winning streak when Erling Haaland scores in all competitions (Haaland has scored 28 goals in that span)
4
Norway scored 4 goals in a major tournament match (FIFA World Cup or European Championship) for the first time in team history, and this was their largest margin of victory at the World Cup.
28
Norway played their first World Cup match in 28 years (first since 1998), ending the fourth-longest WC drought by a team that qualified to the 2026 tournament. Five of the players in Norway's starting XI weren't born when they played their last FIFA World Cup match (27-Jun 1998), including captain Martin Ødegaard.
2
Aymen Hussein became only the second goal scorer for Iraq at the World Cup. He joined Ahmed Radhi who scored in 1986 vs Belgium. Aymen Hussein was Iraq's top scorer in this 2026 World Cup Qualifiers with 6 goals in 12 games.
1 and 1
Aymen Hussein joined Netherland's Ernie Brandts (1974) and Croatia's Mario Mandzukic (2018) as the only players to score a goal and an own goal in the same game at the World Cup.
Argentina 3 - 0 Algeria
16
Lionel Messi's hat trick saw him reach 16 career FIFA World Cup goals, tying Miroslav Klose for the most goals in FIFA World Cup history (Marta has scored 17 Women's World Cup goals).
38y 357d
Messi scored his first career World Cup hat trick - At 38y-357d, Messi broke Cristiano Ronaldo's record (33y-130d) as the oldest to score a WC hat trick. Messi also set the record for oldest to score 2+ goals in a WC game, and became the oldest goal-scorer for Argentina at the World Cup (he is also the youngest-ever, scoring when 18y 357d old).
5
Messi became the second man to score at five FIFA World Cups after Cristiano Ronaldo.
24
Messi now has 24 career goal contributions at FIFA World Cup (16 goals, 8 assists), passing Pelé (21) for most all-time.
5
Messi scored in five straight WC games dating back to 2022, 1 shy of tying the WC record held by Just Fontaine (FRA) and Jairzinho (BRA); he's the first Argentine player to score in 5 straight WC games.
5
Messi scored his fifth career FIFA World Cup goal from outside the penalty area, tying Brazil's Rivellino for the most such goals in the last 60 years.
6 and 20
Messi became the first player to play in 6 different World Cups (Cristiano Ronaldo expected join him on Wed.); today was 20th anniversary of his WC debut and first WC goal (June 16, 2006 vs Serbia & Montenegro)
200
Messi made his 200th international appearance becoming the first South American man and third overall to reach the milestone.
3-0
Argentina recorded its largest win in a FIFA World Cup opener since 1994, when it defeated Greece 4-0 in the United States, another match featuring a hat trick, scored by Gabriel Batistuta.
4
This was Messi's first hat trick against an African nation. He now has a hat trick against 4 different confederations (UEFA, CONMEBOL, Concacaf, CAF). This was Messi's 11th international hat trick and first since 2024.
11
Algeria became the eleventh different team Lionel Messi has scored against in the FIFA World Cup, no other player has scored against more opponents in tournament history.
9
Lionel Messi has scored more World Cup goals after turning 35 (9) than the following players scored in their entire careers: Diego Maradona, Rivaldo, Thierry Henry, Romário, Rudi Völler, Neymar*, Harry Kane*, Cristiano Ronaldo*
*still active
10
Argentina has scored at least one goal in 10 consecutive World Cup games (Longest active streak).
5
Lionel Messi is the first Argentine player to score in five consecutive FIFA World Cup games, passing Hernán Crespo and Guillermo Stabile (4 each)
Austria 3 - 1 Jordan
1
Romano Schmid is the first Austrian player with a goal from outside the box in a FIFA World Cup match since Ivica Vastic against Chile in 1998. Schmid's goal was from a distance of 23.3 meters (25.4 yards), the farthest distance in a goal for Austria in FIFA World Cup since 1982 (Reinhold Hintermaier's goal vs Northern Ireland from a distance of 26.4 meters/28.8 yards). Schmid's goal also became the 10th goal scored from outside the penalty area at the 2026 FIFA World Cup (12 such goals were scored in 2022 WC in Qatar).
30
Austria have never drawn 0-0 in any of their 30 FIFA World Cup matches, that's the most games without a 0-0 draw in tournament history.
37y 59d
At 37 years and 59 days old, Marko Arnautović became the oldest Austrian player at a FIFA World Cup, surpassing the previous record held by Michael Konsel (36 years and 109 days) against Italy on 23 June 1998.
1
Ali Olwan scored Jordan's first goal at the FIFA World Cup; led team with 9 goals in this 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.
(Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this report.)