Erling Haaland and Harry Kane also helped themselves to opening game doubles, while Cape Verde goalkeeper Josimar Vozinha, became an instant star and hero.
My trip to the US has been a tale of two cities: firstly, Boston and now New York, from where I write this week’s column.
Arriving at Boston’s Logan Airport on the opening day, it wasn’t immediately obvious that it was a host city.
A couple of small banners seemed a rather shy acknowledgement of their status. But Boston soon caught World Cup fever, largely thanks to a huge influx of kilted, singing, jubilant Scots.
“No Scotland, No Party” as the refrain goes, and the party lasted long into the night after Scotland began their campaign with a 1-0 win over Haiti.
Reports suggest the party is still going on five days later. The win was nervy and unconvincing but the Tartan Army appear to be winning more comprehensively in Boston, including enlivening a Boston Red Sox baseball game with bagpipes and songs.
One controversial aspect of this World Cup is the hydration breaks that FIFA have introduced.
There were instances where this was a useful aid to the players well-being, but it wasn’t too hot at 9pm in Boston last Saturday night.
The hydration breaks are simply ad breaks, and I hope they end at the conclusion of this tournament.
Speaking of ads, I’ve forgotten how many adverts there are in the US for personal injury lawyers.
Some will surely be targeting those players who fall a little easily at the World Cup, or ‘flopping’ as it’s known over here. Indeed, some local TV stations were airing “soccer terms to know” as part of the educational effort for fans.
With three Scottish points in the bag, I packed my bags and took a train to New York, arriving to a frenzy of sporting excitement. That was due to the New York Knicks triumphing in the NBA Finals against San Antonio Spurs.
But with many football fans basing themselves in The Big Apple or passing through for a visit, the World Cup is making its presence felt here.
I went to France versus Senegal at the slightly confusingly and temporarily named New York-New Jersey stadium.
Hint, it’s in New Jersey. The stadium is the home of the New York Giants and fittingly, it is a giant with a capacity of over 80,000. An equally giant price tag is attached to the tickets for the final, which will be held there.
The organisation and logistics in New York were superior to Boston. I opted for the shuttle bus and it was smooth and efficient. Food stalls were plentiful and thus queues were manageable.
Volunteers were numerous and knowledgeable. In Boston, bemused and increasingly agitated fans were reportedly still queuing to board trains almost three hours after the Scotland versus Haiti game ended.
The volunteers in Boston were friendly and well-intentioned, but seemed rather overwhelmed and under-briefed. In this two-city tour, I saw a game very much of two halves in New York (or arguably four quarters with the dreaded hydration breaks).
The first 45 minutes of France versus Senegal was neat and tidy but rarely sparked into genuine excitement. It was calculatedly cautious.
The second half however showed why France are so heavily fancied by many pundits.
Michael Olise began to play more directly, the tempo quickened, and Mbappe shifted to making runs in behind rather than dropping short.
Later that same day, Argentina beat Algeria 3-0, with Messi scoring a hattrick. Stars make World Cups and so far, they’re on form. It is they who fill stadiums and it is they who get those fans off their seats in anticipation.
Those stars have helped ensure that very expensive ticket prices have not led to half-empty stadiums.
I’ll be back in Boston for Scotland vs Morocco, where hopefully both the trains and the Scottish attack are operating more smoothly.
European nations have not had a great opening week overall but that’s not true of the biggest individual names: Messi, Mbappe, Kane and Haaland.
The humid pressure of expectation, they wear lightly. The stadiums are filling, the ads are selling, and the stars are shining.
