Philadelphia, June 23 -- Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland all scored twice on Monday, turning the World Cup Golden Boot race into a showdown among three of football's biggest stars.
Messi, two days shy of his 39th birthday, struck both goals in Argentina's 2-0 victory over Austria at Dallas Stadium, taking his career World Cup tally to a record 18.
The Argentina captain now leads the tournament scoring chart with five goals from two matches. Hours later in Philadelphia, Mbappe followed suit, scoring twice as France beat Iraq 3-0 despitea nearly two-hour thunderstorm delay at halftime.
The France captain, making his 100th international appearance, moved to 16 World Cup goals across three tournaments, drawing level with forme...