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KEPRI, TRIBUNBATAM.id – The 23rd edition of the 2026 FIFA World Cup is eagerly awaited, especially by debutant teams such as Uzbekistan, Jordan, Curaçao, and Cape Verde. These new entrants are expected to battle hard to earn points or at least score goals on football’s grandest stage.

The record for most goals in World Cup history is still held by Miroslav Klose of Germany, who scored 16 goals. Both Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe still have a chance to add to their goal tallies during this tournament.

“As we know, the national team led by Lionel Messi, nicknamed ‘the flea’, is in the same group as Austria, Algeria, and Jordan. This could be a golden opportunity for Messi and his team when they face Jordan, one of the newcomers,” said Kepri football analyst Chris Triwinasis on Sunday (7 June 2026).

He further noted that Mbappe needs four more goals to equal Klose’s record. France faces a challenging group that includes Norway, featuring striker Erling Haaland, and Algeria, the African side that surprisingly defeated other strong European teams.

The Netherlands won 1-0 against one of these teams, while Asian representative Iraq managed to hold Spain to a 1-1 draw in a friendly match ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Apart from the race for the top scorer title, the tournament’s expanded lineup will also test goalkeepers during the knockout stages, particularly in penalty shootouts (PSO). Key goalkeepers to watch include Emiliano Martinez (Argentina), Manuel Neuer (Germany), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium), Jordan Pickford (England), and Diogo Costa (Portugal).

“It will be interesting to see how the coaches perform. The average age of the head coaches is between 45 and 55 years. However, Dick Advocaat, at 78 years old, is the oldest among them, and it might be difficult to expect much since he is managing debutant team Curaçao,” Triwinasis added. He also mentioned that successful managers who previously excelled as players include Didier Deschamps, who has matched Franz Beckenbauer of Germany in this rare achievement.

“If France manages to win the title this year, Deschamps will cement his status as the most successful French coach, both as a player and as a manager,” he stated. (TRIBUNBATAM.id / Ronnye Lodo Laleng)