Argentina started their World Cup campaign with a win. Lionel Messi played a magical match. His hat-trick blew away Algeria. The reigning world champions began their mission to retain the title with a big 3-0 win.
Messi put the team ahead with a powerful shot from outside the box in the 17th minute of the first half. Argentina went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
Lionel Scaloni’s side maintained their attacking edge after the break. Messi easily scored his second goal in the 60th minute when Alexis Mac Allister’s shot was saved by the goalkeeper.
The Argentine captain then made history by completing a hat-trick in the 76th minute. This was the first hat-trick of his career on the World Cup stage. It was also the first hat-trick of the 2026 World Cup.
With these three goals, Messi’s total World Cup goals tally has reached 16. As a result, he has equaled the World Cup goal record of German legend Miroslav Klose. Both are now joint top scorers in World Cup history.
With a performance approaching the milestone of his 200th international appearance, 38-year-old Messi once again proved how influential he still is on the biggest stage of world football.
The win not only gave Argentina three points but also a confident start to their quest for a second consecutive World Cup title. Buoyed by Messi’s hat-trick, Argentina now looks ahead to the next group stage matches.