Photo: Кирилл Венедиктов / soccer.ru, CC BY-SA 3.0
World Cup Matchday One is complete, and across 48 matches spread from Toronto to Guadalajara, the 2026 tournament has already produced moments that will be discussed long after the final whistle blows in New York.
Hat-tricks, historic upsets, teenage masterclasses, and a 40-year-old goalkeeper who became a global celebrity overnight. Matchday One delivered everything, and then more. Now it is time to identify the five players who stood furthest above the rest.
Selecting just five from a field this large requires ruthlessness. Harry Kane scored a brace against Croatia. Jude Bellingham produced a goal of real quality. Achraf Hakimi ran Brazil’s midfield ragged. Kylian Mbappe became France’s all-time top scorer.
Yet even against that company, five names sit clearly apart, each producing a performance that combined statistical excellence with match-defining impact in a way nobody else on Matchday One quite matched.
Furthermore, the ranking below is not simply about goals. Influence, context, and the difficulty of what each player achieved all factor in. Messi scoring a hat-trick against a weak opponent is extraordinary regardless.
Vozinha making seven saves against the world’s second-ranked side at the age of 40, in his country’s first-ever World Cup match, is something else entirely. Context matters here, and these five earned their places on merit.
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5. Ayyoub Bouaddi (Morocco)
Age: 18 years, 254 days
Match: Morocco 1-1 Brazil
Nobody expected an 18-year-old from Lille to walk into a World Cup match against Brazil and make Casemiro and Bruno Guimarães look a step slow. Bouaddi did exactly that.
Key statistics:
- 87 touches
- 60 of 66 passes completed (90.7% accuracy)
- Second-youngest player to complete 50+ passes in a World Cup match since at least 1966
- Five dribble attempts, suggesting he was genuinely driving forwards rather than simply passing sideways
Born in Paris to Moroccan parents, Bouaddi only became eligible to represent Morocco after France coach Didier Deschamps never called him up. France’s loss is Morocco’s extraordinary gain. This teenager plays like a veteran, and Brazil had no answer for him.
4. Erling Haaland (Norway)
Age: 25
Match: Norway 2-0 Iraq
Haaland was electric. He scored twice before half-time, both from classic centre-forward positions, and came close to a hat-trick in the second half before producing a rare example of wastefulness in front of goal. His 1.85 expected goals figure was comfortably the best of any player across the entire opening round of fixtures.
Additionally, this was a World Cup debut worth waiting for. He became the first Norwegian player to score multiple goals in a single World Cup game. His combination with Viktor Gyokeres in the striking partnership will concern every team in the draw.
3. Folarin Balogun (USA)
Age: 22
Match: USA 4-1 Paraguay
Two goals. Both excellent. A first-half brace that made him the first American male player to score a brace in a World Cup since 1930. Balogun’s movement stretched Paraguay’s defence repeatedly, his first-time finishing from inside the box was precise, and his second goal, a left-footed finish into the upper corner, was technically outstanding.
Born in Brooklyn to parents of Nigerian and British heritage, Balogun chose the United States when he could have represented three different nations. After watching his display against Paraguay, it is difficult to argue with that decision.
Check out: USA Beat Paraguay 4-1: Balogun Brace Secures World Cup Group D Win
2. Vozinha (Cape Verde)
Age: 40
Match: Cape Verde 0-0 Spain
Nothing else at this World Cup comes close to what Vozinha produced against Spain. He faced 27 shots, made seven saves, and prevented 1.5 expected goals, keeping a clean sheet against the tournament’s second-ranked side on his country’s first-ever World Cup appearance. He is also the ninth-oldest player in World Cup history, and no player his age has ever featured in a nation’s debut match at the tournament.
Vozinha”s Instagram following jumped by over 11 million in the three days after the match. Sometimes a single performance genuinely changes a career. He has earned everything that follows.
1. Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Age: 38 years, 357 days
Match: Argentina 3-0 Algeria
Where else could he possibly finish? Messi scored all three goals in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria, completing his first-ever World Cup hat-trick. Two were excellent finishes from outside the box. The third was a composed tap-in that required perfect positioning. Together, they moved him level with Miroslav Klose at 16 goals, making him the joint top scorer in World Cup history.
He also became, comfortably, the oldest player to score a hat-trick at the men’s World Cup, at 38 years and 357 days old, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s record set in 2018 at 33 years and 130 days. He turns 39 on Wednesday. Days before his birthday, he continues to show what is possible.
The Bigger Picture
Matchday Two started with Czechia facing South Africa kicking off the second round of fixtures. Based on what Matchday One delivered, the bar is already set remarkably high. Messi, Haaland, Mbappe, and Balogun all advancing deeper into the tournament points towards a knockout stage that will demand even more from the game’s elite players.
Whoever rises to that challenge will deserve every word written about them.
Read Also: South Africa and Czechia Split Points after 1-1 Thriller
