Records have been falling from day one for the game’s most feared forwards.
Messi now leading the all-time World Cup list has taken a lot of the headlines, and rightly so.
But he isn’t the only one who has been setting records this tournament.
Mbappe now tops France’s goalscoring charts, Haaland is Norway’s leading World Cup scorer – after just two games – while Kane has equalled Gary Lineker’s World Cup record for England.
And all of them will have their sights set on France’s Just Fontaine’s 1958 record of 13 goals scored in one tournament.
Only three players – Fontaine, Gerd Muller for Germany in 1970 and Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis in 1954 – have ever hit double figures at a single World Cup.
It would not be a surprise if that select list has grown by the end of this tournament.
The new 48-team format certainly looks to have increased the potential for goals. With more lower-ranked teams, the world’s best attackers have prospered.
The World Cup winners will also have to play one more round than ever before – again increasing the chance for goals.
Former France defender Gael Clichy told BBC Sport: “Kylian Mbappe is part of the generation which [has] that fearless factor.
“I remember when I started you had to give respect to the older generation when you came in, and you were not trying to do a nutmeg to the old men.
“This generation, they have respect, but differently. Don’t talk about age, talk about performance.”
So, back to the small matter of the race for the Golden Boot.
“It’s not something I’m thinking about right now,” said Mbappe. “Leo always scores. He always has and always will.
“If I start watching him, I’ll feel like I have to do even more, so no, I don’t watch what he’s doing. I’m only thinking about helping my team – by helping the team, I score goals and get closer to that kind of level.”
Norway boss Stale Solbakken has, perhaps unsurprisingly, pushed Haaland’s cause.
“He is the best striker – he is not playing for France or Argentina, he scores for Norway. He’s scored four goals now, two braces on the biggest stage,” he said.
“It’s easier to win the Golden Boot when you play for France and Argentina, but we’ll try to give Erling more games, and more help also in the next games. So he’s on fire and I’m very happy for him that he can score on the biggest stage.”
USA striker Folarin Balogun has made a decent enough start to the tournament himself, with two goals in his first two games.
But he probably summed it up the best, when he joked: “I think it’s annoying. Seeing players like Messi, Mbappe, Haaland – they’re so inevitable. I think they’re scoring a goal a game, sometimes more.
“For me, it’s just about trying to get to that level – to be inevitable as well.”
