One of the quieter storylines of this World Cup is that Mbappé and Haaland ended up drawn into the exact same group. France, Norway, Senegal and Iraq made up Group I, meaning the tournament's two most talked-about strikers were guaranteed to be sharing headlines from matchday one.
France topped the group comfortably, with Mbappé scoring a brace in a 3-1 win over Senegal among their results, and closed out the group stage with a 4-1 win over Norway in which Haaland didn't feature at all, having already been rested with qualification secure.
Norway's own group campaign was built almost entirely around Haaland's finishing. A 4-1 win over Iraq and a 3-2 win over Senegal, with Haaland scoring twice in each, was enough to see them through to the knockout rounds in second place, comfortably clear of the play-off scramble for the best third-placed sides. From there, Norway beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in the round of 32, with Haaland scoring the winning goal, setting up a round of 16 meeting with Brazil.
As things stand, both players have kept their World Cup alive deep into the tournament, which is exactly the scenario that makes a summer like this interesting for a site built around comparing them: two strikers, two very different national team setups, both still playing meaningful football in July. France's route as favourites and one of the most complete squads in the tournament looks different to Norway's story of a single world class player dragging a solid but unspectacular team further than most people expected.
This page will get updated as both campaigns move forward. Whatever happens from here, both of them have already delivered one of the most talked-about statistical seasons of their careers before a ball was even kicked at this World Cup.