Kylian Mbappé pushed France through to the World Cup quarterfinals. Erling Haaland and Norway will be there, too.So will Harry Kane after England’s epic 3-2 win over Mexico.The stars are shining in this World Cup and it’s about to get brighter, even after Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo bowed out for the last time.The last two round of 16 games are Tuesday, including Switzerland against Colombia in Vancouver, British Columbia.Topping the marquee is a showdown between Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah in Atlanta.One star will move on and add to his legacy. The other will head home from the World Cup, maybe for the final time.Messi added the one thing missing from his resume by leading Argentina to the World Cup title four years ago and has shown he’s still one of the world’s best players at age 39.Messi has scored seven goals in four matches, matching Mbappé and Haaland in a star-studded Golden Boot race. Messi has scored in a record eight straight World Cup matches, dating to the 2022 title run, and keeps adding to his record career total of 20 goals.
Salah has been the face of Egyptian soccer, a four-time Premier League Golden Boot winner and the league’s all-time leading foreign-born scorer.
