Viking row, Golden Boot race & marvellous minnows: Key moments from 2026 World Cup

[p][i]AFP Sport[/i] picks out some of the key talking points after more than five weeks of action in Canada, Mexico and the United States.[/p][h2]Hotshots[/h2][p]The race for the Golden Boot caught fire early and has remained absorbing until the final weekend.[/p][p]The names at the top of the charts are a who's who of the world's top marksmen - including [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/messi-lionel/vgOOdZbd/"]Lionel Messi[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mbappe-kylian/Wn6E2SED/"]Kylian Mbappe[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/haaland-erling/UmV9iQmE/"]Erling Haaland[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kane-harry/v5HSlEAa/"]Harry Kane[/a].[/p][image alt="Mbappe leads the World Cup Golden Boot race" id="4c8d6ed3-1a17-49e7-aa6e-2a9ea51c70ac" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform / REUTERS / Carlos Barria" guid="8ae92396-d3ee-4883-bb32-99b70ffe0505" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Mbappe, who scored twice in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a]'s 6-4 defeat by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/j9N9ZNFA/"]England[/a] in Saturday's third-place play-off, leads Messi by two goals with just Sunday's final to come.[/p][p]The Frenchman is also now the top goalscorer in World Cup history - with 22 to his name across three tournaments, one ahead of Messi.[/p][h2]Minnows sparkle[/h2][p]Debutants [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cape-verde/MocyWdm7/"]Cape Verde[/a] finished the group stage unbeaten and advanced from a section that included former champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/spain/bLyo6mco/"]Spain[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/uruguay/xMk44orG/"]Uruguay[/a].[/p][p][b]"To be honest, it feels like I'm living in a fairytale,"[/b] said [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/duarte-deroy/2oo31kfa/"]Deroy Duarte[/a] after his team set up a last-32 match against defending champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a].[/p][embed guid="ccd1938c-3b0c-4fe2-a100-71636386f951" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2073201097481613319?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The African nation pushed Messi's men to the brink, twice coming from behind, before a winner for Argentina in extra time.[/p][p]Caribbean island [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/curacao/bLLGpOkQ/"]Curacao[/a] - the smallest country to compete at a World Cup by both population - also had their moment of glory, holding [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ecuador/8tbm8Tri/"]Ecuador[/a] to a goalless draw after an opening 7-1 hammering by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/germany/ptQide1O/"]Germany[/a].[/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /][h2]Argentina comebacks[/h2][p]Time and again Argentina have appeared vulnerable at the 2026 World Cup, but they have always found a way.[/p][p]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 [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/egypt/bejDn7NN/"]Egypt[/a].[/p][p]They needed extra-time again to beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/switzerland/rHJ2vy1B/"]Switzerland[/a] in the quarter-finals and were staring at defeat against England in the semi-finals before a late double.[/p][embed guid="852bb5ab-ee07-4176-8ad3-278d198d2a0c" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2077517433896935450?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Argentina have not played the silkiest football, but their never-say-die attitude is their superpower.[/p][h2]Balogun row[/h2][p]The World Cup was remarkably free of off-field controversy until [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/balgun-folarin/rVZLmUsU/"]Folarin Balogun[/a] found himself at the centre of a political storm.[/p][p]The US forward, who scored three goals, was sent off in his team's last-32 match against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bosnia-herzegovina/fqe7WYTr/"]Bosnia and Herzegovina[/a], ruling him out of the next game.[/p][p]But FIFA stepped in and suspended his ban, leading to widespread condemnation, especially when it emerged that US President Donald Trump had intervened.[/p][embed guid="7f795105-2b17-459f-9425-d4c3cd97ab89" url="https://x.com/atrupar/status/2074136347967619337?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The host nation were outclassed 4-1 by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/belgium/GbB957na/"]Belgium[/a] in the last 16, with Balogun making little impact.[/p][p]Afterwards, the 25-year-old admitted the episode had put extra pressure on the team.[/p][h2]Haaland goes viral[/h2][p]Erling Haaland fired [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/norway/8rP6JO0H/"]Norway[/a] to their best-ever World Cup finish - and also became a social media sensation with his quirky posts.[/p][p]The towering Manchester City forward has gained 30 million Instagram followers since the start of the tournament to move to more than 71 million.[/p][p]Haaland, 25, whose team were beaten by England in the quarter-finals, now has far more Instagram followers than City's official account.[/p][embed guid="06b3eb68-c9e8-4b3a-97ac-8d73b5a08593" url="https://x.com/Erling/status/2076630728050147693?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]One of his posts featured the "Viking row", which will be one of the abiding images of the tournament.[/p][p]The ritual featured players leading Norway fans in a rhythmic row in a pretend Viking boat.[/p][p]He also shared a picture of himself arriving back in Norway accompanied by a stuffed raccoon, explaining: "It followed me home."[/p][h2]Falklands dispute[/h2][p]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.[/p][p]Argentina recovered from a goal down to win 2-1 and reach their third final in four World Cups.[/p][p]After the final whistle, the players held a banner that read: [b]"Las Malvinas son Argentinas" (The Falklands are Argentine)[/b].[/p][image alt="Argentina's Lisandro Martinez and Giovani Lo Celso celebrate with a Falkland Islands-related banner after qualifying for the World Cup final" id="a80db8af-42c2-4408-b226-26ff8a061d85" credit-line="REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli" guid="b1b0813f-35bc-4bb8-9e95-d0b78c9cf770" original-width="5598" original-height="3953" /][p]Britain called for FIFA to look into the incident and the governing body put out a statement saying it was "assessing the match reports".[/p]