World Cup Roundup: Memorable Night In Mexico; Mbappé, Haaland Stay Hot

The first three days of the knockout stage of the World Cup have firmly delivered.

On Tuesday, all three matches had what normally would have been the best moment of the day. First, Erling Haaland added another goal to his unbelievable track record for Norway. Kylian Mbappé then continued his journey toward becoming the greatest goalscorer in the tournament’s history, before Mexico capped the evening with a performance to remember in its capital city.

Here’s the best of Match Day 20 at the FIFA World Cup.

Moments Of The Day

What a night at Mexico City Stadium for El Tri.

First, Julian Quiñones opened the scoring after a great run and finish. Then, it was Mexico’s go-to striker who sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Jiménez picked up the ball at the top of the 18-yard box off a pass from Quinones, and he delivered a wonderful strike into the top corner.

Mbappé is only 27 years old and playing in his third World Cup, but he’s already one of the best players in the history of the tournament.

The France captain scored two more goals on Tuesday against Sweden to bring his total for the tournament to six. That ties him with Lionel Messi for the most at the tournament, and he’s now one behind Messi (19 goals) for the most all-time at the World Cup.

There’s a chance that Mbappé overtakes Messi for that lead before the end of the tournament. By the time he’s done playing, chances are he will be far ahead of second place for the most goals at the tournament.

When Norway needed a goal most against the Ivory Coast, it was not surprising at all to see who was in the right place at the right time. Haaland found the perfect position in the center of the box and just had to tap in the cross from midfielder Patrick Berg.

This was Haaland’s fifth goal in three matches at this World Cup and sets up a round-of-16 match against Brazil on Sunday.

Goal Of The Day

There was a serious contender for this honor on both sides of the Ivory Coast vs. Norway.

We’ll start with Antonio Nusa, who picked up the ball from Martin Odegaard and went to work. He dribbled at two defenders before quickly putting the ball on his right foot and getting his shot off. That shot was a wonderful curling effort that snuck into the far post to give Norway a 1-0 lead.

The runner-up here is Diallo, whose equalizer capped a tidy move down the right wing. He played a one-two with Nicolas Pépé to get through on goal. He paused in front of Norway goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland (more on him momentarily), turned onto his left foot and sliding the shot home into the far post.

Save Of The Day

Diallo almost got on the scoresheet again in stoppage time for what would have been a dramatic equalizer, but Nyland got a strong left hand to his effort. From there, Norway defended another Ivorian corner and was off to the round of 16 for a matchup with Brazil.

Norway’s Ørjan Nyland makes game-saving stop to defeat Ivory Coast | 2026 FIFA World Cup™

Assist Of The Day

Mexico’s opening goal saw a perfect lofted pass meet a perfectly timed run.

Roberto Alvarado picked up the ball and saw Quiñones sprinting forward. Quinones remained onside because Alvarado’s pass was played when he was still in Mexico’s defensive half of the field.

Quiñones never lost any momentum and ran right onto Alvarado’s pass and delivered a thunderous finish past Ecuador goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez.

Ivory Coast vs. Norway

Norway recorded its first ever knockout stage win at the World Cup and will play Brazil in the round of 16 on July 5.
This is Norway’s first win in a knockout stage match at either the World Cup or European Championships.
Haaland has a goal in 13 straight competitive games for Norway, totaling 25 goals in that span.
Martin Ødegaard became the third player on record (from 1966) to assist a goal in each of his first three World Cup appearances. The others: Igor Belanov for the USSR in 1986 and Michael Ballack for Germany in 2002.
Antonio Nusa is the youngest Norwegian goalscorer ever at the World Cup at 21 years and 74 days old.
Ivory Coast loses in its first knockout stage appearance ever at the World Cup.

Ivory Coast vs Norway Extended Highlights 🌎🏆 2026 FIFA World Cup™ | Round of 32

France vs. Sweden

France advances to the round of 16 and will play Paraguay on July 4 in Philadelphia.
Kylian Mbappé scored two goals today, giving him 18 World Cup goals in his career— one shy of tying Lionel Messi for the most ever. He has now scored 10 goals in the knockout stages of the World Cup, the most of any player in World Cup history. He entered the game with eight, which was tied with Leônidas and Ronaldo Nazário for the most ever.
Mbappé has now recorded seven multi-goal games at the World Cup (six braces and one hat trick). That’s at least three more than any other player in the history of the competition.
Mbappé is now the second Real Madrid player to score six goals in a single World Cup, joining Croatia’s Davor Šuker (1998).
Michael Olise is now up to five assists, the most of any player in the tournament, and the first player to record five assists in a single World Cup since Thomas Häßler in 1994. With one more, he will tie Pelé (1970) for the most assists in a single World Cup, since tracking began in 1966.
France has one outright loss in its last 18 World Cup matches, going 15W-2D-1L. That loss was in 2022 in its final group-stage match against Tunisia.

France vs Sweden Extended Highlights 🌎🏆 2026 FIFA World Cup™ | Round of 32

Mexico vs. Ecuador

Mexico has scored eight straight goals without conceding at the World Cup, extending their team record.
This was the first time Mexico was ever leading by two goals at halftime of a World Cup match.
Julián Quiñones is the fifth Mexican player ever to score three World Cup goals and just the second Mexican player to score three or more goals at a single World Cup. The other was Luis Hernández in 1998, when he scored four.
Raúl Jiménez scores his second goal at the World Cup. He passed Jared Borgetti on Mexico’s all-time goals list with 47. Javier Hernández has the most with 52.
Gilberto Mora started for Mexico. At 17 years and 259 days old, he became the second-youngest player ever to start a World Cup knockout stage match. The youngest: Pelé.