US has a strong start while Messi and Mbappé eye records in opening rounds of the World Cup

Millions of fans are watching and hundreds of thousands of folks have been traveling to Texas as the FIFA World Cup puts the Lone Star State on the global stage.

On Monday, that stage belonged to Argentina’s Lionel Messi. In a match played in Dallas, Messi scored twice against Austria — sending Argentina into the knockout rounds and becoming the all-time leading scorer in men’s World Cup history. 

So what else has happened in the tournament so far? Which teams have surprised? And as the final rounds approach, what should even casual fans here in Texas be watching for? 

Jimmy Maas and Juan Garcia are the hosts of iVamos Verde!, a podcast following Austin FC and the world of soccer. They joined the Standard to discuss where things stand. Listen to the interview in the player above or read the transcript below.

This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:

Texas Standard: Jimmy, Messi breaking this record was a big moment. There was a massive reaction from the crowd there. What does this mean for his legacy as a soccer player?

Jimmy Maas: Honestly, I don’t know. His legacy is pretty set as is. It’s rare that someone crosses the 34-35 age threshold in soccer — well, really in most athletic endeavors — and actually increase their legacy, their standing in the world of that sport since that demarcation. 

He won the World Cup in 2022. He has proven himself as basically a starter, igniter of things here in Major League Soccer — igniter of interest. I mean, Inter Miami plays to sold-out crowds in larger stadiums when they go to different cities. Now he’s back and there was a lot of talk that he would not go to the World Cup at all this year and now he is taking over. 

The weekend games have not happened, but so far he’s scored all the goals for Argentina and he is breaking records. I don’t know how long these records will last because there is another gentleman named Kylian Mbappé who is just behind him. He is two goals ahead of Mbappé, who tied the man that they both are about to pass. 

Juan, let me bring you in here. Let’s talk a little bit more about Kylian Mbappé: French striker who’s been on fire, 27 years old, already 16 World Cup goals — four of those in this tournament already.

Do you think he’s gonna surpass Messi or no?

Juan Garcia: It’s hard to bet against that. I mean, it took Messi six World Cups to break the record at 39 years old. Mbappé at 27 in just his third World Cup, he already matched Miroslav Klose, the guy we were talking about that used to hold the record. 

If he can keep the level of play up, which is kind of an important caveat to make, I think it’s likely that he breaks the record eventually. We can’t even rule out that he breaks Messi’s record this tournament, depending on how the knockout stage goes. 

Well, the U.S. has had a great start to this World Cup so far, but they lost a game to Turkey last night. How are you feeling about their chances for a deep run?

Jimmy Maas: Americans don’t like to lose, so there’s that. Any loss feels grander than it really is.

But in the big picture, they had already qualified for the knockout round. Their game with the round of 32 was already set before kickoff of this game. So there was literally nothing to play for.

Don’t tell that to the players though. This is an opportunity for them to show that they can perform, they can be a good sub when they need it. They made nine changes to the lineup last night out of 11.

There wasn’t that much to play for, but it was a good opportunity for those players to show that they can do well when needed.

Is it a pipe dream that you could see the U.S. and Britain playing on July 4?

Jimmy Maas: That possibility has changed now because of the way the bracket worked out. I think the next game for the U.S. would be July 6, if they where to win. That was a possibility, and I think the machinations did not work out. 

The U.S., though, they’ve looked as good as they may ever look in a World Cup — the first two games. If they can continue what that was, they can make a run.

This first game is winnable in the knockout round. What happens after that is, you know, it’s dreams and duct tape. But who knows, it might work.

Juan, we have a lot of Mexico fans here in Texas. They’ve won all three games in the group stage. How are they looking headed into the round of 32? 

Juan Garcia: Well they’ve won all three games in the group stage and that gives them a lot of momentum heading into the knockouts, especially after the beautiful moment they gave longtime goalkeeper Memo Ochoa — letting him go out for 20 minutes, appear in his sixth World Cup in front of the home fans at the Azteca.

That said, their big wins came against what, on paper, looked like the weaker sides in the group. 

They struggled against what could be considered the most talented team in their qualifying group, which was South Korea. That’s a team that ended up finishing last in the group.

As they say, soccer is not played on a stat sheet — it is played on grass. 

Juan, any other storylines you’re watching for in the rest of the tournament? 

Juan Garcia: Well, we’re starting to get to one of my favorite parts of the tournament, which is trying to figure out who could win their first-ever World Cup. It’s one of my favorite things to look for ever since I saw Spain win the 2010 World Cup. 

I’ve got two that are not gonna surprise anybody because they look fantastic and they always look fantastic at the World Cup: the Netherlands and Portugal.

Jimmy what about you? Anything you’re paying attention to for the rest of the World Cup?

Jimmy Maas: I am a homer at heart and I am looking for the performance of the Texas boys, which there are quite a few on the U.S. Men’s team. 

Weston McKennie, whose parents were in the military… I think he was born in Germany, but they settled in Little Elm, which is in North Texas. If you’re in that area — Frisco, Plano, McKinney, Little Elm — if it’s not high school football season, you’re probably on your way to a club soccer match. It’s the hub. 

Ricardo Pepi and Alex Zendejas come from El Paso, although Pepi went into the FC Dallas Academy. Chris Richards [is] originally from Alabama, but because competitive soccer [will] pull you into the system, he made it through Houston and then eventually to the FC Dallas Academy. Now he plays in Europe. 

The honorary Texan, Gio Reyna whose dad Claudio came to Austin for Austin FC, the family still lives here. The sister plays locally in high school and club. So Gio Reyna, we’ll claim him as well. I’m just watching those guys play, see how well they do.

What does this do for soccer writ large? I know you guys cover FC Austin and I’m just curious, has this generated the sort of excitement that can be transformative or are we looking at sort of the status quo? 

Jimmy Maas: Well the entire Major League Soccer is a result of the ’94 World Cup. And probably, in some level, the NWSL and professional women’s sports is because of the ’99 World Cup.

If there’s a reasonably good performance here from the U.S. team, a reasonably entertaining show from anyone, there’s good chance this continues to take off. 

Juan Garcia: The folks that are coming to visit from all over the world are showing a lot of Americans why it is that they love their country. They’re showing them why it is that they love soccer.

I can imagine there’s a lot of people discovering the sport for the first time, but it won’t be the last time they’re gonna be keeping up with the game.

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