As recently as the weekend, England midfielder Declan Rice said the schedule was taking a toll on players. The 27-year-old, who will play his 64th game of the season if he starts against Ghana on Tuesday night, stressed that he is playing through pain.
"It's an unreasonable number of games, the schedule has been crazy," Rice said, according to The Guardian.
But despite the complaining and talk of fatigue, it's been just over two weeks since the World Cup started and so far the biggest stars have delivered goals and led their respective teams to advancement in the tournament.
+ Lionel Messi, 39, Argentina:
It's hard to find words for what the Argentine has done in two matches. Against Algeria he scored a hat-trick and in Monday's match against Austria he scored twice, had many missed chances and missed a penalty.
In 2022, Messi led his Argentina to World Cup gold. At the time, many believed it was the peak of a successful playing career. Four years later, the striker continues to write himself into the history books - now as the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer.
+ Kylian Mbappé, 27, France:
The question is how long Messi will be able to keep his record. The Frenchman, who has 16 goals, has scored two goals against Iraq and two against Senegal, and in the third group match, Norway awaits.
Mbappé is likely to break Messi's goalscoring record as he has age on his side and at least one more World Cup under his belt. He is also the man of the big matches. No other player has scored as many goals (four) as the Frenchman has in World Cup finals.
+ Erling Braut Haaland, 25, Norway:
The feeling is that Haaland is on a mission: to score as many goals as possible. His hunger and determination to constantly pressure the centre-backs and force mistakes is mouth-watering for coaches.
Like Mbappé, Haaland has scored two goals against Iraq and two against Senegal. If Norway gets a favorable draw, most likely the Manchester City star will be in the running for the World Cup top scorer.
2002: Ronaldo, Brazil (eight goals)
2006: Miroslav Klose, Germany (five goals)
2010: Thomas Müller, Germany, Wesley Sneijder, Netherlands, Diego Forlán, Uruguay, David Villa, Spain (all on five goals)
2014: James Rodríguez, Colombia (six goals)
2018: Harry Kane, England (six goals)
2022: Kylian Mbappé, France (eight goals)
