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The first 48-team World Cup has provided a thrilling spectacle and a string of compelling storylines.

AFP Sport picks out some of the key talking points after more than five weeks of action in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Hotshots

The race for the Golden Boot caught fire early and has remained absorbing until the final weekend.

The names at the top of the charts are a who's who of the world's top marksmen — including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.

Mbappe, who scored twice in France's 6-4 defeat by England in Saturday's third-place playoff, leads Messi by two goals with just Sunday's final to come.

Kylian Mbappe #10 of France is tackled by Declan Rice #4 of England during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Bronze Final between France and England at Miami Stadium on July 18, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida

The Frenchman is also now the top goalscorer in World Cup history — with 22 to his name across three tournaments, one ahead of Messi.

Minnows sparkle

Debutants Cape Verde finished the group stage unbeaten and advanced from a section that included former champions Spain and Uruguay.

"To be honest, it feels like I'm living in a fairytale," said Deroy Duarte after his team set up a last-32 match against defending champions Argentina.

The African nation pushed Lionel Messi's men to the brink, twice coming from behind, before a winner for Argentina in extra-time.

Fifa President Gianni Infantino poses for a picture with Cape Verde's Vozinha after the match

Caribbean island Curacao — the smallest country to compete at a World Cup by both population — also had their moment of glory, holding Ecuador to a goalless draw after an opening 7-1 hammering by Germany.

Argentina comebacks

Time and again Argentina have appeared vulnerable at the 2026 World Cup, but they have always found a way.

The defending champions cruised through their group but were taken to extra-time by Cape Verde and recovered from 2-0 down late in the game against Egypt.

They needed extra-time again to beat Switzerland in the quarter-finals and were staring at defeat against England in the semi-finals before a late double.

Argentina have not played the silkiest football but their never-say-die attitude is their superpower.

Enzo Fernandez #24 and Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina celebrate scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Semi Final match between England and Argentina at Atlanta Stadium on July 15, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia

Balogun row

The World Cup was remarkably free of off-field controversy until Folarin Balogun found himself at the centre of a political storm.

The US forward, who scored three goals, was sent off in his team's last-32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, ruling him out of the next game.

But Fifa stepped in and suspended his ban, leading to widespread condemnation, especially when it emerged that US President Donald Trump had intervened.

Folarin Balogun of the U.S. is shown a red card by referee Raphael Claus

The host nation were outclassed 4-1 by Belgium in the last 16, with Balogun making little impact.

Afterwards, the 25-year-old admitted the episode had put extra pressure on the team.

Haaland goes viral

Erling Haaland fired Norway to their best-ever World Cup finish — and also became a social media sensation with his quirky posts.

The towering Manchester City forward has gained 30 million Instagram followers since the start of the tournament to move to more than 71 million.

Haaland, 25, whose team were beaten by England in the quarter-finals, now has far more Instagram followers than City's official account.

One of his posts featured the "Viking row", which will be one of the abiding images of the tournament. 

Erling Haaland #9 of Norway leads teammates in the Viking Row to celebrate the 2-1 victory during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between Brazil and Norway

The ritual featured players leading Norway fans in a rhythmic row in a pretend Viking boat.

He also shared a picture of himself arriving back in Norway accompanied by a stuffed raccoon, explaining: "It followed me home".

Erling Braut Haaland carries a stuffed raccoon as he gets off the plane after the national football team landed at Oslo Airport, in Gardermoen, Norway, July 13, 2026

Falklands dispute

The build-up to the semi-final between Argentina and England was dominated by talk over the contested Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Malvinas.

Argentina recovered from a goal down to win 2-1 and reach their third final in four World Cups.

After the final whistle the players held a banner that read: "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" (The Falklands are Argentine).

Argentina's defender #19 Nicolas Otamendi (L) and midfielder #11 Giovani Lo Celso show a banner that reads in Spanish, "The Malvinas (Falkland Islands) belong to Argentina"

Britain called for FIFA to look into the incident and the governing body put out a statement saying it was "assessing the match reports".

Argentina players brandish political Falklands flag after Fifa win against England Ecstatic Norway squad celebrate World Cup progress with Viking row Messi magic, full stadiums: What we learned after first round of Fifa World Cup games