Kylian Mbappe v Erling Haaland: Who is more important to their country?

This World Cup shows that no player will be deterred by the pressure of a big tournament.

For all the focus on Messi, it feels like only a matter of time before Mbappe gets to the top of the World Cup scoring charts.

The Frenchman trails the 39-year-old by just two goals after scoring 16 times in 16 World Cup appearances. Crucially, Mbappe is 12 years younger than Messi and while you can’t completely rule out the Argentine legend’s return four years later, this could be his last World Cup.

Haaland is playing in his first World Cup and has taken to the competition to take to the water as a Viking rower.

He is the sixth player in World Cup history to score more goals in each of the first two games of the World Cup and only the second in the last 50 years to do so, after Harry Kane in 2018 for England.

His recent form for Norway has also been impressive. He has scored in 12 consecutive international matches, including an impressive 16 goals in the last 6 games.

On the international stage, Haaland is generally referred to as a goalscorer. Mbappe has scored an impressive 60 international goals in 100 appearances, but the Norway striker is just one behind on 59 despite playing just 52 games for his country – 48 less than Mbappe.

How do their games compare?

Individual heat maps from the competition provide insight into where they are doing most of their work on the field.