Lionel Messi scored a historic hat-trick to become the joint-top all-time scorer in World Cup history as defending champions Argentina opened their campaign with a victory over Algeria at the Kansas City Stadium.
On his 200th international appearance, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner raised his tournament goal tally to 16, tying Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the leading scorer in competition history. The win marks the first time Argentina has won an opening World Cup match as defending champions, avoiding the opening-day defeats they suffered in 1982 and 1990.
Messi opened the scoring in the 17th minute, receiving a pass from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul and curling a shot past Algerian goalkeeper Luca Zidane. The breakthrough followed a frenetic opening period where both Argentina and Algeria had goals disallowed within the first 20 minutes. Messi, who became the first player to feature in six World Cups, also escaped disciplinary action for a heavy challenge on Algeria’s Aissa Mandi later in the first half.
The 38-year-old forward extended Argentina’s lead in the 60th minute by capitalising on an error from Zidane. He then completed his first-ever World Cup hat-trick in the 76th minute, converting a powerful strike from the edge of the penalty area following an assist from Nicolas Gonzalez. The performance made Messi, who turns 39 next week, the oldest player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup tournament.
With the victory, Argentina takes early command of Group J before upcoming fixtures against Austria and Jordan.