France's Kylian Mbappe scored multiple goals in the first group match against Senegal, proving why he is called the next king of football. France, who completely avenged the memory of the painful loss to Senegal during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup after 24 years, showed off their power as a strong candidate for the championship with Mbappe at the center. In particular, Mbappe scored 14 goals in the World Cup with this multi-goal, surpassing Lionel Messi and achieving the great feat of becoming the sole top scorer in the French national team's history. He is now just two goals shy of Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup scoring record of 16 goals, and is ready to rewrite the legend in this tournament. Mbappe's mature game management and overwhelming decision-making power go beyond just individual records and become a key driving force in raising the morale of the entire French national team.

On the other hand, Lionel Messi, the ‘god of soccer’, proved his class by scoring the first goal in the 17th minute of the first half in the first match against Algeria. With this goal, Messi once again confirmed his status by becoming the second player in history, after Ronaldo, to score in five consecutive World Cup competitions. Amid the enthusiastic support of fans who filled Kansas City, Messi completely dispelled concerns about a hamstring injury and, as a tactical pivot, steadily led Argentina's challenge for their second consecutive title. In particular, this goal, scored on the same day as his World Cup debut goal 20 years ago, remains a dramatic scene symbolizing Messi's long journey. He is now tied for third place with 14 goals, and has begun his final chase for Klose's record.

The view towards Cristiano Ronaldo is quite different from that of Messi. Although he took the field at the age of 41, setting an unprecedented record of his 6th World Cup, the controversy over his appointment is heating up in Portugal. Some fans criticize Ronaldo for hindering the team's tactical flexibility and are making a sobering assessment that Portugal could be more organized without him. However, Ronaldo is concentrating on preparing for the game, showing confident confidence to those who doubt his performance, as if making fun of the aging controversy. For him, this tournament is a desperate challenge to win the World Cup, the final puzzle of his career, and is also a stage where he must prove that he is still a champion who can determine the team's victory.

The scenario that soccer fans around the world are most looking forward to is whether or not the so-called 'Meho War', the World Cup match between Messi and Ronaldo, will come to fruition. The two players have competed numerous times on the European stage over the past 20 years, but have never faced each other directly at the World Cup finals. In this tournament, there is an open possibility that Argentina and Portugal will meet in the tournament after passing the group stage in first or second place, respectively, so many experts and fans are looking forward to meeting in the quarterfinals or finals. Although the two players' prime is past, and young bloods like Mbappe are breaking new records, the symbolism of Messi and Ronaldo and the final fighting spirit they will show are the biggest points to watch that make this North and Central America World Cup even more special.