Эрлинг Холанд хоёр гоол оруулснаар Бразилыг тэмцээнээс хасаж, Норвегийг шөвгийн наймд шалгарууллаа.
Дэлхийн аваргын түүхэнд анх удаа Эрлинг Холанд, Килиан Мбаппе болон Лионель Месси нар тус бүр долоон гоол оруулж, мэргэн буучийн жагсаалтыг тэргүүлж байна. Одоогийн байдлаар Норвеги болон Франц шөвгийн наймд үлдээд байгаа бол Аргентин мягмар гарагт Египетийн эсрэг тоглох юм. 1958 онд Жүст Фонтейн нэг тэмцээнд 13 гоол оруулсан дээд амжилтыг эвдэх боломжтой эсэх нь олны анхаарлыг татаж байна.
Лионель Месси 39 насандаа гайхалтай тоглолтоо үзүүлсээр байгаа бөгөөд тэрээр Дэлхийн аваргад 20 гоол оруулсан амжилтаараа түүхэнд бичигдлээ. Аргентины тоглолт бүхэлдээ түүний эргэн тойронд төвлөрч байгаа тул хагас шигшээд шалгарах өндөр магадлалтай байна. Түүний туршлага болон ур чадвар нь Герд Мюллерийн 10 гоолын болон Фонтейны 13 гоолын амжилтыг эвдэх боломжийг нээж өгч байна.
Эрлинг Холандын хувьд сэтгэл зүйн хувьд тайван, өөртөө итгэлтэй байгаа нь хамгаалагчдад томоохон аюул учруулж байна. Тэрээр анхны Дэлхийн аваргадаа амжилттай оролцож байгаа бөгөөд Норвегийн цаашдын амжилт түүний гоолын салхинаас шууд хамаарах юм.
Килиан Мбаппегийн хувьд Францын довтолгооны хүчирхэг бүрэлдэхүүн түүнд олон боломж олгож байгаагаараа давуу талтай. Тэрээр өндөр хурд, талбайн хаанаас ч гоол оруулах чадвараараа бусдаас ялгарч, энэ удаагийн Дэлхийн аваргыг өөрийн болгохоор шийдэмгий байна. Мессигийн туршлага, Холандын сэтгэл зүй, Мбаппегийн хурд хүч нь мэргэн буучийн төлөөх өрсөлдөөнийг улам бүр ширүүн болголоо.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
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Erling Haaland scored twice to eliminate Brazil from the World Cup, send Norway into the quarter-finals and tie the golden boot race.
In a tournament that the superstars have dominated, Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi all have seven goals. It is the first time in World Cup history that three players have scored as many. The record for a single tournament is still held by Just Fontaine, who scored a remarkable 13 goals in six games in 1958.
It is turning into one of the all-time golden boot contests, with Haaland’s Norway and Mbappe’s France into the quarter-finals and Messi’s Argentina playing Egypt in the round of 16 on Tuesday.
So who is best positioned for the race? Our writers present the case.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is inevitable. Messi is the greatest of all time. Messi is unstoppable.
As long as Argentina keeps progressing, Messi will keep scoring. It seems completely obvious to say that. He is the best ever to kick a football; he has scored more goals at World Cups (20) than anyone else, more goals for Argentina (124) than anyone else, and has scored in eight consecutive World Cup matches (another record).
And yet, it’s also a complete surprise to see him repel time and age to continue to write his own script at the age of 39. What he’s doing has never been done before; we are in completely uncharted territory.
He looks good for it. The team revolves around him, and he’s dribbling and scoring in almost exactly the same manner as when he was 17.
With seven Messi goals from four matches so far, Argentina, as expected (despite their humongous wobble against Cape Verde), should reach the semi-finals with victories over Egypt and then either Colombia or Switzerland. That means four more matches (with either a final or a third-place play-off to finish). With seven from four, how many could Messi score from eight? Double figures, last achieved by Gerd Muller with 10 in 1970, feels easily achievable. Perhaps even Just Fontaine’s 1958 World Cup record of 13 will be in Messi’s sights.
If that sounds outlandish, remember who we’re dealing with here. Expect the unexpected, but also expect the inevitable.
Tim Spiers
Erling Haaland
As a professional footballer, Erling Haaland is in the perfect psychological place. He takes his work very seriously, but not too seriously. He enjoys the life of an athlete, but he has other things going on outside of it. He’s getting the balance right, and that’s not true of every single person who plays the sport.
Haaland clearly came into the World Cup intending to love it. That’s obvious in his body language (and it was obvious in him saying, without any inhibitions, that when France and Norway met in the group stages, France would win). There’s a paradox in the fact that as Norway’s world-class star, he’s carrying a huge amount of weight – yet Norway’s happy-go-lucky vibes mean he’s carrying not much at all.
A zen Haaland must be a nightmare to defend against: relaxed, unrattled, taking it all in stride. He’s finishing like he’s in a training session, and the only thing that stands between him and the Golden Boot is Norway’s ability to last in the tournament.
Mbappe, for instance, has a huge chance of going all the way with France. Haaland might not stick around quite long enough to outgun him. But if Norway continues their historic run, then it’s bound to be on the basis that Haaland has been at it again. At his first World Cup, and representing a minor nation (in terms of past achievements), very few debut tournaments have eclipsed his.
Phil Hay
Kylian Mbappe
There’s something ominous about Kylian Mbappe at this tournament. His form has always been prone to volatility, typically meaning he drops in and out of games to influence them, but his impact has been pronounced and steady so far, and he looks to be at the absolute peak of his form. There’s a talismanic quality at work, too. He looks like a player determined to make this his World Cup.
But what gives him the edge over the other two — Messi in particular? I think France are just considerably better than anybody else at this tournament, meaning that Mbappe will stay involved for longer and literally spend more time on the pitch. In addition, their style of play makes broad use of their outrageous attacking options, virtually guaranteeing a supply of chances for a player who can score almost any type of goal from anywhere in the attacking third. They are not a flawless side and their defence is hardly invulnerable, but what a privilege for any goalscorer to have Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele scheming on your behalf.
Mbappe is a brilliant footballer, but he is also a marvelous and younger athlete. In sporting terms, Messi may be the closest we have to an immortal, but he is still 39 years old, and logically, the tournament schedule and the conditions in which it has been played will surely take a toll eventually. Messi is Messi, so maybe not given that we’ve been expecting his decline for years now, but Mbappe is an otherworldly talent in his own right and looks terrifyingly potent.
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
