Argentina made a fiery start to the FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign and thrashed Algeria 3-0 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The night was all about Lionel Messi, who broke a plethora of records and scored his first World Cup hat-trick. Messi gave the defending champions a stunning start with a brilliant shot from outside the box in the 17th minute. Argentina finished the first half 1-0 ahead, and Messi turned up the heat when play began in the second half.
In the 60th minute, he doubled Argentina’s lead with a simple tap-in from a rebound off the keeper following a drive from Alexis Mac Allister. 16 minutes later, Messi scripted World Cup history and scored a hat-trick with a shot from outside the box. The goal took Messi on par with Miroslav Klose in the list of most goals in FIFA World Cup history (16). Messi was substituted three minutes later and walked off to a standing ovation after delivering one of the greatest World Cup performances.
Algeria didn’t have much to deliver against the defending champions. They got the fans excited when Fares Chaibi hit the net in the ninth minute, but it was ruled offside and Argentina took full control over the match.
A Record Breaking Night For Lionel Messi
Meanwhile, Messi broke a plethora of records on a dreamy night. This was Messi’s 200th appearance for Argentina and he became the first South American and third overall to play 200 matches for the country. He became the second player after Cristiano Ronaldo to score in five different editions of a World Cup. Messi now also has 24 career goal contributions at FIFA World Cup (16 goals, 8 assists), and surpassed passes Pele (21) for most all-time.
His hat-trick came in his 38th year, making Messi the oldest to score a World Cup hat-trick.
Reacting to the win, Messi said, “To enjoy this with my family, with my teammates, the ones who are always there, is a really beautiful moment,” said the Inter Miami star. “I’m happy.”
He added: “I’m grateful to the fans, because once again they’ve shown that Argentina is crazy about this. We packed the stadium again.”
