Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland provide a World Cup day made in heaven originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.. It shaped up as a day handed down by the soccer gods — football, if you prefer, but divine either way.. Advertisement. Advertisement. Advertisement. France and Kylian Mbappe to start Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup action. Norway and Erling Haaland in the next time slot. And as the main act, Lionel Messi and defending champion Argentina.. Three of the best attacking players in the history of the sport, each at a slightly different point in their timeline of powers, all still absolute box office when on the pitch.. And this potentially special Tuesday lived up to the billing and then some.. Mbappe scored twice for France, the second an audacious rocket to tear Senegal’s hearts out from 25 yards.. Haaland scored twice, too, leading Norway past Iraq.. Advertisement. Advertisement. Advertisement. And then there was the maestro Messi, needing to outdo that duo, scoring a hat trick to prove himself the World Cup’s all-time best.. MORE: Cape Verde pulls off one of craziest results in World Cup history. Sometimes, fans turn on the World Cup to root for upsets or shocks, like Cape Verde drawing Spain a day earlier.. But sometimes, it’s about the stars, the super duper stars, the guys that need no introduction: Mbappe, Haaland, Messi.. These guys can all handle high expectations, but that doesn’t always mean they deliver.. Mbappe and France sleepwalked through the first half against Senegal, but then he made a smart run, slotted in a low finish and had the French side off and running. The superstars didn’t really stop from there.. Advertisement. Advertisement. Advertisement. Haaland and Messi each made sure there’d be no question of the outcome of their matches, with Algeria getting an up-close look at Messi’s magnificence.. He may not have seen Mbappe’s second goal, but Messi’s first wasn’t much different, turning after receiving a pass with his back to goal and firing in a left-footed rocket.. MORE: Gianni Infantino’s private jet is doing a lot of work. There’s a phrase in world football: “Unplayable.”. To an American audience, that might sound like the suggestion is that someone is so bad that they shouldn’t be on the field.. Advertisement. Advertisement. Advertisement. That’s not how it’s used in this context, though. Here, it means that a defense can’t find a way to play against a particular opponent. The offensive player is so good, so unstoppable, that he’s “unplayable.”. At their best, that’s what Mbappe and Haaland and Messi are.. And in one of the best kind of gifts granted by those watching over The Beautiful Game, that trio of legends found some of their best form all at once on Tuesday.. There’ll be plenty more great moments at this World Cup, but a day with seven combined goals from this generation’s scoring superstars will be tough to top.. Advertisement. Advertisement. Advertisement. Japan fans clean up the stadium after World Cup games. Spain makes a massive Lamine Yamal mistake. Ref cams are making quite the fashion statement. Lawrence, Kansas has fallen in love with the Algerian national team. Pink cleats are everywhere at the World Cup