Messi’s Argentina and Mbappé’s France Debut in 2026 World Cup Action

Well hasn't time flown by? We're very nearly at the end of the first round of World Cup games and today it is the turn of two of the favorites to begin their campaign. Holders Argentina got off to a disastrous start four years ago and will be conscious of the danger posed by Algeria in Group J, where Austria also face Jordan .

Before that, however, it is the turn of the fascinating Group I. France vs. Senegal is a repeat of the 2002 opener, one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history, and expectations are similarly high on Les Bleus as they face the side whose African title was deposed from them in the boardrooms of CAF . Then it is the turn of Norway , and Erling Haaland, for so long the coming force of European football, and now playing their first major tournament since 2000. Truly, today is a day for the stars. They don't come much brighter than Lionel Messi.

Just how good is Messi in 2026?

Three and a half years ago Messi, then 35, was still quite clearly the greatest footballer on the planet. How could he not be when the World Cup had so emphatically bent to his narrative arc, when he was still playing passes that no one else could see on their televisions, let alone with 21 men hurtling around him? If Messi had been a writer, he would have called it a day in Lusail as champion of the world. Sport rarely offers such perfect end points, and when they do, the best are usually too competitive to see the value of going out on top.

And so Messi has endured, his last two seasons spent lighting up MLS as and when the mood takes him. He was quite clearly the best footballer on the continent of North America until everyone else decamped here at the start of the summer. I mean look at those bars. That's just silly stuff Leo.

It's also what makes him so hard to assess. Yes, Messi is running rings around the Columbus Crew, but a league rating model like Opta's would say he'd find greater tests back in his homeland of Argentina or even the second tier of the English game. The World Cup promises to be a step up. So too will be the talent that surrounds him. Messi is swapping out the quickly retiring Barca veterans of Inter Miami for Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez as his targets, talent aplenty in the midfield to provide him with service.

In such circumstances, it is hard to believe that Messi is going to be a disappointment. The best player in MLS could and should still be a very good player in the World Cup. And of course, he's Messi. He might be much, much better than that. The 100th percentile creator and scorer Stateside might be the 95th percentile in Europe. Or this might be his Michael Jordan at the Washington Wizards World Cup. A great player still performing at an All-Star level. Just not performing at the level that only they could ever reach.

Mbappe's defense

The man who might have inherited Messi's title as the greatest player in Europe has heard all the critiques. He gets it. Forty-two goals and six assists in 43 games for Real Madrid last season is not enough. Kylian Mbappe is going to have to get back on defense.

"I need to take the extra step [with my defense] because it's something important for the team and I have to do it," he said. "It will start this time because we want to win, and to win, I'm ready to do whatever because I want to win at all costs."

It takes quite something for one of the best pure scorers in the game, who needs four goals to match the World Cup's all-time scoring record at 27 years of age, to be doing so little defensively that it is actually a problem. Then again when you look at Mbappe's defensive numbers, they're quite something.

Among qualifying attacking players in La Liga last season Marcus Rashford ranked second from bottom for total pressures per 90, according to Gradient Sports. He attempted 22.51. The average across the division was 42.08. Mbappe attempted 16.99. Even his Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Junior, not renowned as a model of defensive work rate, pressed about twice as frequently as Mbappe.

Worse still, there were around 20 center backs who pressed more than Mbappe last season. If you're new to this sport, the guys at the back whose job is to win duels and clear balls, they should not be the ones breaking shape to apply pressure to the ball. And when Mbappe did engage in his defensive duties, he did not do them very well. Two interceptions in La Liga were one fewer than Joan Garcia . The Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia. Again, for those newer to the game, the goalkeeper should not be making more interceptions than one of the outfield players.

When you play for a team as dominant as Real Madrid in particular, and perhaps as France in the early stages of this competition, Mbappe's diffidence tends not to matter. His team have so much territory, threat and possession that their greatest requirement is an elite forward. There is, however, a reason why Mbappe is yet to win the Champions League, ultimately a more competitive, if less prestigious, competition than the World Cup he won in 2018. When it comes to the business end of that competition, you can't defend with nine outfield players. In the international game, maybe you can. After all, Mbappe has one gold and one silver medal from his two World Cups. Still, couldn't hurt to try this defending everyone's been talking about.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/2026-world-cup-biggest-lional-messi-argentina-kylian-mbappe-france/)._