Messi Says Goodbye, Kane Hits 100, Raphinha Can't Stop: The Striker Report

On Tuesday, Lionel Messi played his last game for Argentina. He set up the first goal, set up the second, and scored the third from the penalty spot. On Saturday, four days later, he scored twice for Inter Miami.

That is the whole episode in two sentences. The best goalscorers in the world just came back from a three-week international break, and the ones who matter most did what they always do: they showed up.

I’m Etienne Noumen, and this is the written version of this week’s Black Mambas of Football and Soccer. Here are this week’s top strikers, sorted into three tiers, with what each one did, how his club is doing, and how he compares with a legend at the same age.

The tiers are strikers of the week: picked on this week’s form, and open to new names as the week goes on. A few players, like Mbappé, Haaland, Kane and Yamal, will be in Tier 1 almost every week. Everyone else earns it week by week.

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Why this one covers a month

FIFA’s new calendar merged the September and October international windows into a single 16-day block, from 21 September to 6 October. So club football stopped for three weeks and only came back this weekend. The Champions League has played one matchday, and Matchday 2 is this Tuesday and Wednesday.

Before we start, three things to keep in mind. Spain are world champions: they beat Argentina 1-0 in July, and Ferran Torres scored the winner in the 106th minute. Kylian Mbappé won the Golden Boot with 10 goals and now holds the all-time World Cup record with 22. And the Ballon d’Or is on 26 October in London, with the voting window already closed.

Tier 1 strikers of the week

Lionel Messi, Inter Miami, 39

Argentina 3-0 Benin at the Monumental. An assist for Nicolás Otamendi, who was also playing his last game for Argentina. An assist for Nico Paz. Then a 71st-minute penalty, high into the corner. 208 caps and 126 goals, both national records.

Then two more on Saturday in a 4-0 win over D.C. United. He has 23 MLS goals and 13 assists, four goals clear of FC Dallas’s Petar Musa with six games left, and the win moved Miami up to second in the East.

At the same age: Zlatan Ibrahimović scored 30 MLS goals at 37. Messi is putting up Zlatan’s numbers two years older, in the same week he said goodbye to his country.

Harry Kane, Bayern Munich, 33

On 18 September Kane scored twice in a 7-0 win over Union Berlin and became the fastest player ever to 100 Bundesliga goals: 98 games. The old record, Dieter Müller’s, took 129. Then he went to England camp, scored six Nations League goals in four games, and won his 125th cap, level with Peter Shilton’s record.

This weekend at Augsburg he didn’t score. He set up both Bayern goals in a 2-2 draw and hit the bar. Augsburg scored after eight and a half seconds, after a Manuel Neuer mistake. Bayern are second, unbeaten, two points behind Dortmund.

At the same age: Robert Lewandowski scored 50 goals for Bayern at 33. Kane at 33 is a different animal. On the days he doesn’t score, he’s the one who creates.

Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid, 27

Seven La Liga goals in seven games, including a hat-trick against Real Sociedad. Then in the window he scored France’s winner in Türkiye, his 67th international goal, and hurt his left knee. Back this weekend, he started in a 1-0 win over Villarreal, had two good chances saved and didn’t score. A 19-year-old scored the winner. More on him below.

José Mourinho is back in charge at Madrid, and they’re chasing a Barcelona side that hasn’t dropped a point. Next up: Roma away on Wednesday, then the Clásico on 25 October.

At the same age: Thierry Henry at 27 scored 25 Premier League goals and shared the European Golden Shoe. Ronaldo Nazário at 27 won the Pichichi for Real Madrid. Neither had a World Cup scoring record at 27. Mbappé has the all-time one: 22 goals in 22 World Cup games.

Erling Haaland, Manchester City, 26

Enzo Maresca has replaced Pep Guardiola, and City went to Anfield on Sunday perfect after five league games. They came away perfect after six.

Liverpool 0-3 Manchester City. Ryan Gravenberch was sent off on 62 minutes for a second yellow, and City punished it immediately: Haaland three minutes later, Jérémy Doku three minutes after that, and Rayan Cherki to finish a lovely team move. That’s Haaland’s sixth game in a row with a goal for City and his sixth Premier League goal, top of the chart. City are three points clear of Arsenal, and it’s Liverpool’s first league defeat of the season.

At the same age: Ruud van Nistelrooy scored 44 goals in 52 games for Manchester United at 26. Gerd Müller scored 40 Bundesliga goals the season he turned 26. Haaland also has something neither had at 26: seven goals at a World Cup with Norway.

City’s answer to the verdict

Let’s be precise, because this gets garbled a lot. This is the Premier League’s case, not UEFA’s. On 29 September the league published an independent commission’s finding that City are guilty of all the charges relating to serious breaches of its financial rules over nine seasons, plus three of the four charges of failing to co-operate. No punishment has been set yet. That comes from a separate hearing. City say they’re innocent and have appealed. UEFA hasn’t charged City; it says it is monitoring and will wait for the Premier League process to finish.

I won’t guess the sanction. The only recent precedent is Everton and Nottingham Forest losing points in 2023-24 for breaking the league’s spending rules, and City’s case is far bigger.

What I will say is this. Two weeks after that verdict, under a manager in his first season, City went to Anfield and won 3-0. Whatever happens in the hearing room, the dressing room has answered on the pitch, and an “everyone is against us” mood can bind a squad. But a points deduction could land in the middle of the season and wipe out a three-point lead in an afternoon. So is the noise fuel or a weight? Wednesday against PSG is the next answer.

Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid, 23

He’s a midfielder, and he’s in a strikers’ tier because he scores like one. Seven goals at the World Cup as England finished third, more than Gary Lineker in 1986 or Harry Kane in 2018. Then in this window, a goal and three assists in a 7-0 win in Croatia, Croatia’s heaviest defeat ever, and he finished that night wearing the captain’s armband. Roy Keane said he can become one of the greatest players of all time.

Three La Liga goals so far. No goal against Villarreal, but with Mbappé coming back from a knee injury and Vinícius facing a ban, Madrid will need him to score in Rome on Wednesday.

At the same age: Kaká scored 14 Serie A goals for Milan as a 23-year-old attacking midfielder and won the Ballon d’Or at 25. Bellingham is on that road, already with an England World Cup record behind him.

Lamine Yamal, Barcelona, 19

Seven La Liga goals, four in the Nations League, and the cross for Jules Koundé’s goal in a 3-0 win over Getafe that made it eight league wins out of eight. He played the World Cup final in July and became the first player under 20 to have won both the Euros and the World Cup.

At the same age: Messi at 19 scored 14 La Liga goals and a Clásico hat-trick. Pelé won the World Cup at 17. Yamal sits between them: Messi’s numbers at the same age, plus the medal Messi waited until he was 35 to win.

Raphinha, Barcelona, 29

Twelve La Liga goals in seven games. Nobody else in Spain has more than seven. And now he’s out, with a thigh problem from Brazil duty. Hansi Flick says it isn’t really an injury, but after three injuries last season Barcelona are protecting him. He misses Galatasaray on Tuesday.

At the same age: Luis Suárez scored 40 La Liga goals at 29 and won the Golden Shoe. Raphinha is scoring faster. Whether he gets to 40 depends on his body more than his finishing.

Michael Olise, Bayern Munich, 24

Four Bundesliga goals, joint top. Two in the Champions League, four for France in the window, and Pelé’s World Cup assist record from the summer. Quiet at Augsburg.

At the same age: Thierry Henry at 24 won the Premier League Golden Boot with 24 goals while still drifting in from the left. Olise is the closest thing we have to that profile.

Ousmane Dembélé, PSG, 29

The reigning Ballon d’Or winner had two goals and two assists in the Champions League opener, played all four France games in the window, and was rested this weekend. PSG beat Le Mans 3-1 without him but sit fifth in Ligue 1. Next: Manchester City away on Wednesday.

At the same age: Luís Figo won the Ballon d’Or at 28 and spent the next few seasons proving it wasn’t a one-off. Same job for Dembélé.

Vinícius Júnior, Real Madrid, 26

He came on at half-time against Villarreal, scored, and then VAR found he’d pulled an opponent’s hair in the build-up. Goal ruled out, red card. The question now is whether the ban reaches the Clásico.

At the same age: Neymar at PSG, when the talent and the discipline headlines were fighting for the same front page.

Alexander Isak, Liverpool, 27

He missed Sunday through injury, with Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai, and you could see what Liverpool lose without him. Four Premier League goals already, more than he scored in the whole of last season after his British-record move. Andoni Iraola, now Liverpool’s coach, still wants more: “He took the chance after a quiet afternoon, and that’s what a striker’s job is like. But he has to help us to be closer to the box.”

Same career stage: Fernando Torres after his British-record move to Chelsea scored once in his first 18 games and never got back to his Liverpool level. Isak, in year two, is already writing a different story.

Ferran Torres, PSG, 26

He scored the goal that won Spain the World Cup, then moved from Barcelona to PSG for 48.5 million euros. A hat-trick on his Champions League debut and four Ligue 1 goals put him joint top in both.

At the same age: David Villa won the Euro 2008 Golden Boot at 26. Ferran at 26 has the goal that won a World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Al-Nassr, 41

He walked out of the Portugal camp, saying coach Jorge Jesus hadn’t kept his word about when he’d play. Then he went home and scored in a 3-0 win over Diriyah. Career goal number 980.

At the same age: Romário claimed his 1,000th goal at 41 (his count included unofficial games). Ronaldo is 20 short at the same age, on an official count.

Tier 2 strikers of the week

• Rayan Cherki (Manchester City, 23): scored City’s third at Anfield, his fourth Premier League goal, from the number 10 role behind Haaland. Kevin De Bruyne was 23 when he scored 10 and made 21 assists in a Bundesliga season for Wolfsburg, then became City’s defining playmaker. Cherki has that job now. PSG on Wednesday is his audition.

• Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal, 28): scored in a record seventh straight Nations League game and passed Marcus Berg with his 25th goal for Sweden. Arsenal are level on points with City.

• Donyell Malen (Roma, 27): six Serie A goals, top of the chart, Roma unbeaten. He gets Mbappé’s Real Madrid on Wednesday. Roy Makaay scored 29 for Deportivo at the same age and got his big move.

• Lautaro Martínez (Inter, 29): four goals for the Serie A leaders. Diego Milito won the treble at 30. One big European night would do it.

• João Pedro (Chelsea, 25): five Premier League goals, level with Haaland, under Xabi Alonso.

• Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray, 27): back from a groin injury and set up a goal off the bench on Friday. Hosts Barcelona on Tuesday.

• Serhou Guirassy (Dortmund, 30): two league goals, two assists, two in the Champions League, and Dortmund are top. Jamie Vardy was 29 when he won the league.

• Petar Musa (FC Dallas, 28): the only man within touching distance of Messi in MLS.

Tier 3: rising strikers of the week

• Yan Diomande (Real Madrid, 19): scored the only goal against Villarreal. Signed from Leipzig this summer, and on the Kopa Trophy shortlist.

• Lennart Karl (Bayern, 18): scored at Elversberg in September; also a Kopa nominee.

• Franco Mastantuono (Fiorentina, on loan from Real Madrid, 19): three Serie A goals in a team fighting relegation.

• Éli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth, 20): Kopa nominee in a side still looking for its first win.

• Carlos Espí (Real Madrid, 21): two league goals, the first on his debut on opening day.

• Endrick (Real Madrid, 20): back from Lyon and fighting for minutes in a crowded attack.

The scoring races

The week ahead

Champions League Matchday 2. Tuesday: Galatasaray vs Barcelona, Inter vs Club Brugge, Viking vs Bayern, Atlético vs Manchester United. Wednesday: Manchester City vs PSG, Roma vs Real Madrid, LASK vs Liverpool, Bodø/Glimt vs Dortmund.

Mamba Moment of the Week

Lionel Messi. He retired from his national team on a Tuesday with a goal and two assists, then scored twice on Saturday. At 39 he leads MLS by four goals.

That’s the part I want you to take away. The farewell was beautiful, but the Mamba moment was Saturday. He just showed up again.

Your turn to show up

If this episode makes you want to get on a pitch yourself, Djamga finds real pickup games near you, lets you RSVP in one tap, and follows live soccer scores with lineups. It’s free on iPhone.

And if you’re a parent, a player or a coach in Canada, Show Up And Play gives you straight answers about amateur sport: 142 clubs across ten Canadian cities, the registration fee wherever a club actually publishes one, tournaments, and an Ask feature that shows you its sources. Free on the web and on the App Store.

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, and tell me who your striker of the week is.

Sources for every number in this post: NBC Sports, Sky Sports, UEFA, Bundesliga.com, MLSsoccer.com, Al Jazeera, Yahoo Sports, VAVEL, beIN Sports, Athlon Sports and Newsweek, all current to 11 October 2026. The full source list is on the showupandplay.com version of this post.