World Cup news LIVE: Latest updates after Kylian Mbappe closes in on Lionel Messi

Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live World Cup news blog on June 23!

The superstars were out in full force once again yesterday, which will forever be remembered for Lionel Messi eclipsing Miroslav Klose to become the highest men's World Cup goalscorer in history.

However, attention will swiftly turn to England's second Group L match against Ghana, in which a win will guarantee the Three Lions a spot in the knockout rounds.

World Cup 2026: Latest news and biggest headlines on June 23

No penalty? No problem for eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi, who quickly put his spot-kick failure behind him to inspire Argentina to a 2-0 win over Austria in their second Group J battle.

Two days before celebrating his 39th birthday, Messi's two goals carried the reigning champions into the knockout rounds, where they will be joined by both France and Norway.

Kylian Mbappe kept Messi honest at the top of the World Cup scoring charts by bagging a brace of his own in France's 3-0 win over Iraq, before Norway ensured their place in the last 32 by overcoming Senegal 3-2 in the other Group I showdown.

The fourth and final showdown on Monday saw Algeria leave it late to beat Jordan 2-1, and another debutant - Uzbekistan - will seek their first win in Tuesday's opener against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal.

Three hours later, Thomas Tuchel's England battle Ghana at the Gillette Stadium in a top-of-the-table clash in Group L, before zero-pointers Panama and Croatia do battle in Toronto shortly after.

The Mundial action continues into the early hours of Wednesday morning with Colombia and DR Congo squaring off in Group K, and elsewhere, the build-up continues to Scotland's mammoth final-day encounter with Brazil in Group C.