Although you would not put it past the organisers of this World Cup to include a ‘Superstar Showdown’ where the biggest names all play on the same day, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland have been smashing in the goals in short succession thanks instead to delightful coincidence.After just two games each at this tournament, Messi has five goals, while Haaland and Mbappe have four apiece. Since 1978, 10 of the World Cup’s 12 Golden Boot winners reached either five or six goals, which highlights just how well those three have started.Messi, 39, will have a lot to say about how this summer goes, but on Friday night Haaland and Mbappe, the leading lights of a younger generation, will go go head-to-head as Norway play France in Boston.“I couldn’t care too much about that game now, they’re (France) probably going to win against us, they’re probably going to win the tournament,” Haaland told Fox Sports on Monday night.Fair enough… but it promises to be a good match-up and will be another opportunity to see two of the game’s best players and biggest stars.Both are dynamic, powerful goalscorers; Haaland got 38 for Manchester City last season, Mbappe 42 for Real Madrid. But they are also very different players — and their brilliant performances at this World Cup underline their contrasts and strengths.What do they do best?Haaland, 25, is the ultimate penalty-box poacher, whose expert movement means he is regularly in the right place at the right time, scoring the type of goals that look easy — but if they were, everybody would be doing it.There are often long spells when he is not directly involved with play (and does not look interested in getting involved, either), but his mere presence means the opposition has to adapt to his movements (or the threat of his movements), which can allow team-mates extra space to work in.Haaland generally finishes carefully crafted team moves, unless he gets the chance to counter-attack quickly, when he can race away and finish one against one.Mbappe, 27, is much more of a livewire threat all over the pitch, happy to roam around to get on the ball, dribble and shoot from all angles.He can change games single-handedly from almost anywhere in the opposition half, but is also a clinical finisher inside the box and has the appetite to score plenty of goals, not just aesthetically pleasing ones.Which is the better player overall is a matter of opinion, but considerations should take into account their presence in the dressing room and qualities as a team-mate.There is an incredible video of Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique urging Mbappe, playing for the French club at the time, to add defensive efforts to his vast attacking ability.“A real leader is someone who, when you can’t help us with goals, helps us with everything defensive,” Luis Enrique yells at him in a documentary released by Spanish broadcasters Movistar in October 2024, by which time Mbappe had left for Real Madrid.