The eyes of the world were mesmerised by the untouchable Lionel Messi as he wrote himself into history by scoring a stunning hat-trick to give Argentina the perfect start to their World Cup title defence, beating Algeria 3-0 in Kansas.
Lionel Scaloni lauded the masterclass performance of Lionel Messi after the captain netted a sensational hat-trick in Argentina's dominant 3-0 victory over Algeria to launch their 2026 World Cup campaign. Lionel Messi put on a clinic at Kansas City Stadium, scoring a magnificent hat-trick in Argentina’s 2026 World Cup opener to propel the defending champions to a comfortable 3-0 rout of Algeria, seizing early control of Group J. Following the emphatic victory, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni was left in complete awe of his captain’s timeless brilliance, reiterating that the No. 10 has firmly cemented his status as the undisputed greatest of all time. “I’m honestly at a loss for words. What else can I possibly say? He has been doing it for 20 years,” Scaloni told DSports in his post-match interview. “The entire footballing world tunes in just to watch him play, not just the fans in Argentina. What he transcends globally is absolutely unbelievable. I don’t know what else to add. He will forever be the greatest in history—it is incredibly hard to imagine anyone ever matching what he has done”. With his spectacular hat-trick, Messi has now matched Miroslav Klose as the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history with 16 goals, while simultaneously becoming the first player in the tournament’s history to find the net against 11 different teams. Messi x3 🎩#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/KWNuCSaCIs— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 17, 2026 Scaloni about Argentina’s win Despite Argentina’s emphatic final scoreline, the early stages of the match were far from a walk in the park. Algeria caused serious structural problems for the defending champions, even sounding the alarm bells when Fares Chaibi had a goal ruled out for offside after piercing through the backline. Reflecting on those early scares, manager Lionel Scaloni admitted his squad was fully prepared for a tactical dogfight. “We knew we were going to suffer out there. They are a very well-drilled team with specific elements that were always going to put us in difficult situations,” the coach explained. “Even though we came away with a 3-0 win, it was an incredibly tough match”. The Argentine also emphasized the unique psychological pressure that defines a World Cup opener, noting that the memory of their shocking opening-match collapse against Saudi Arabia back in 2022 was heavily on their minds. “The first match of a World Cup is always complicated; the mental side of the game plays a massive role,” Scaloni added. “The setback we experienced in Qatar definitely weighed on us.”
Lionel Messi made history with a hat-trick as Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 in their World Cup debut. With the competition already underway, the 2026 World Cup saw a new group begin its action as Group J brought Argentina against Algeria. In a match that should remain in history, Lionel Messi scored three goals to lead Argentina to a 3-0 victory. In the first half, there were not many chances, with a disallowed goal for Messi and another for Farès Chaïbi for offside, while not much else happened. That was until Messi received a through ball before shooting from distance to score the opening goal. What came next was not much different from the rest of the match. However, the gap between the teams grew after Alexis Mac Allister shot from distance and Messi scored after a poor rebound from Luca Zidane. Messi then scored again from a Nicolás González pass, firing from the edge of the box to complete the hat-trick and move him level with Miroslav Klose for the most goals in World Cup history, with 16.
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Argentina rose to the occasion, and so did Lionel Messi, who in his 200th cap took another step towards solidifying his place as the greatest footballer in the history of the sport, scoring three splendid goals and tying Germany’s Miroslav Klose for the all-time goal scoring mark in World Cup play (16), the performance coming just hours after France’s Kylian Mbappé leapfrogged him, with 14. The Inter Miami midfielder also became the first male player to appear at six World Cups, a record that feels certain to be equalled by Cristiano Ronaldo when Portugal begin play. Messi had been recovering from a muscle injury in recent weeks but any doubt surrounding the Argentinian captain’s status was quickly wiped away when he was named to Lionel Scaloni’s starting XI, and those doubts were ancient history once the match began.
Later today, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will get underway. There are two matches on Thursday’s docket: Host team Mexico gets things started against South Africa, while a little later South Korea will square off with Czechia. And in short order, the other 44 teams will join the fray. Here, we are keeping track on […]
One of the biggest sporting events on the planet is about to begin. Starting on Thursday, the FIFA World Cup gets underway in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. The World Cup begins with the group stage, as the 48 teams in the field battle it out to secure one of the 32 spots in […]
Lionel Messi’s first match at the 2026 World Cup was one for the record books. The living legend scored a hat trick against Algeria as Argentina began its defense of the 2022 World Cup win, and with his third goal, he pulled level with Miroslav Klose atop the list of all-time goal scorers in World […]
