Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland have taken their expected starring roles so far in the World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo is getting some unexpected criticism.

Lionel Messi set a World Cup record with his 17th and 18th goals, and defending champion Argentina advanced to the knockout stage with a 2-0 victory over Austria on Monday.

Messi had a golden opportunity to break the record in the ninth minute, but went wide to the right on a penalty kick. Almost 30 minutes later, Messi caught Alexander Schlager leaning the wrong way after Thiago Almada let Facuno Medina's pass go by him directly onto Messi's left foot.

Lionel Messi. Kylian Mbappé. Erling Haaland.

It's a very starry Monday for the World Cup.

Iran took another step toward advancing in the World Cup on Sunday, but once again the off-the-field play dominated the conversation.

At the match's conclusion, at least one attendee wearing a pre-revolutionary flag shirt was detained for trying to run onto the pitch. And afterward, though demonstrations were quieter than Monday's, an Associated Press reporter observed a fan who got into a scuffle with protesters being loaded into an ambulance.

Egypt's players danced on the field while their red-clad fans celebrated in the stands. The Pharaohs finally got their first World Cup win.

Mohamed Salah scored the go-ahead goal and Egypt went on to defeat New Zealand 3-1 on Sunday night.

It's number-crunching time when it comes to formations at the World Cup.

Every team starts with a goalkeeper in front of the net, but then it's up to the 48 coaches to try to arrange their lineups to optimize their players and match up effectively with opponents.

Real Madrid says it has reached a deal with Ibrahima Konaté to sign the France defender to a four-year contract.

The Spanish powerhouse announced the deal on Thursday while the central defender is with his national team at the World Cup.

Lionel Messi used the front of his white-and-blue, sweat-soaked jersey to wipe the tears from his eyes, a flood of emotions cracking his usually calm, confident demeanor after he gave Argentina an early lead in its World Cup opener against Algeria.

Then he scored again. And again.

At age 38 and playing in his sixth World Cup, Lionel Messi has his first hat trick in soccer's biggest tournament and Argentina's defense of the trophy is off to a flying start.

Messi's three goals in the 3-0 win over Algeria on Tuesday saw him become the joint highest scorer in men's World Cup history alongside Germany's Miroslav Klose with 16 in total. It was also the first hat trick of this year's tournament and the 55th in World Cup history.

Hey, Jude, you and Harry didn't let England down.

Harry Kane scored twice to equal the English record for World Cup goals, and Jude Bellingham put England in front for good two minutes into the second half of a 4-2 victory over Croatia on Wednesday.