This was one of the best stretches of football all tournament. Messi gets his first ever World Cup hat-trick at 38 years old, tying Miroslav Klose's all-time scoring record — and somehow still gets overshadowed by Mbappé and Haaland both scoring twice on the exact same day. England wins a genuinely insane 4-2 game against Croatia that goes back and forth four times before halftime even hits, and the US tops their group for the first time since 2010.

This week we also break down exactly how the group stage standings actually work — points, goal difference, and the new third-place team wrinkle that's confusing everyone with this expanded 48-team format. Plus a rundown of who's looking good heading into the final group games, and who should probably start worrying.

Final group games are coming. People are about to go home.

Music: Sovereignty by KETSA X THE CONSCIOUS COLLECTIVE via Free Music Archive, License: CC BY