Lionel Messi Shines with Hat-Trick as Argentina Dominates Algeria in World Cup Opener

Argentina's Impressive Start to World Cup 2026

The reigning champions, Argentina, kicked off their World Cup journey in spectacular fashion. Lionel Messi stole the spotlight by netting a remarkable hat-trick, leading his team to a 3-0 victory over Algeria. This match was not only about the goals; Messi also achieved several significant milestones.

In a remarkable twist of fate, Messi's hat-trick coincided with the 20th anniversary of his inaugural World Cup goal, which he scored during the 2006 tournament in Germany against Serbia and Montenegro.

Now, two decades later, Messi marked his 200th appearance for Argentina with this hat-trick, bringing his total World Cup goals to 16. This achievement ties him with the legendary Miroslav Klose for the highest number of goals in World Cup history. Interestingly, Messi holds the distinction of being both the youngest and oldest player to score for Argentina.

"You equalled Klose’s record and surpassed Ronaldo Nazario as player with the most goals in World Cup history?"️ Leo Messi: "It is a great honor to be able to compete with all these greats, including Ronaldo Nazario… He is among the best players I have watched."

The accolades continue for Messi, who is now the third-oldest player to score in a World Cup, following Roger Milla of Cameroon (42) and Portugal's Pepe (39). Additionally, he has become the first player in World Cup history to score against 11 different nations, surpassing Ronaldo and Jürgen Klinsmann, who each scored against 10.

Messi also made history as the first male player to participate in six World Cups and the oldest player to achieve a hat-trick in the tournament.

In the match against Algeria, Messi's first goal came in the 17th minute, following a brilliant pass from Rodrigo De Paul. He capitalized on defensive errors in the second half for his second goal and completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute. Argentina's upcoming fixtures include matches against Austria on June 22 and Jordan on June 28.