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. 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 France vs. Sweden Mexico vs. Ecuador