Lionel Messi scored a record hat-trick to help Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 and start their campaign in the tournament Football World Cup Defending the title in exciting fashion.
Argentina They began their World Cup title defense with Lionel Messi-Inspired to win 3-0 Algeria In group J.
Messi, the driving force behind Argentina’s 2022 World Cup win, ensured it was an unforgettable day for the fans packed into Kansas City Stadium as he scored his first World Cup hat-trick and became the first player to participate in six different editions of the tournament.
NFL star Patrick Mahomes was among those watching from the stands as Messi made his 200th appearance for Argentina, equaling Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals.
Kylian Mbappe has already surpassed Messi in the all-time scoring charts at the finals with his brace against Senegal earlier in the day, while Erling Haaland marked his World Cup debut with two goals for Norway.
But Messi, exactly 20 years after his World Cup debut, has made a statement of intent in the Golden Boot race.
He had a goal disallowed for marginal offside in the opening exchanges, before Fares Chaibi suffered the same fate at the other end as Algeria, whose star Riyad Mahrez started on the bench, showed what they could offer in attack.
Since then, it’s been Messi’s show.
He scored a stunning goal in the 17th minute, tapping into the top right corner from the edge of the penalty area after Rodrigo De Paul’s precise pass.
Messi doubled the second on the hour mark, showing his poaching instinct when he fired in with his right foot after Zinedine Zidane’s son, Luca Zidane, who was also in the stands, had managed to parry Alexis McAllister’s low effort.
Messi’s magical display concluded in dramatic fashion in the 76th minute, when the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner exchanged passes with Nico Gonzalez, shortly after being denied by Zidane, and curled a perfect shot into the bottom left corner.
The evergreen Messi is making more history
Kansas City is known as the “Home of Soccer” in the United States, so it was fitting that Messi would perform in the heart of American soccer.
Messi took six shots to lead the team, surpassing the five attempts he made in the 2022 final, in which he scored a brace and created two chances, more than any other player for either team.
At 38 years and 357 days old, Messi is the oldest player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup.
He surpassed the record set by his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who was 33 when he scored three goals against Spain in 2018.
Messi also became the first Argentine player to score in five consecutive World Cup matches, surpassing Hernan Crespo and Guillermo Stabile (five each). It was his 11th hat-trick for his country, and 61st overall.
Now, Messi needs just one goal to secure the all-time World Cup goals record. Considering that he hasn’t really been able to achieve his best form in this tournament for a long time, this makes his achievement even more extraordinary. In fact, he has now scored 10 World Cup goals after turning 35.
Ten of Argentina’s starting players were members of the 2022 World Cup-winning squad, while nine of them featured in the final against France (six of them from the start), and while the other favorites took time to get going, Lionel Scaloni’s side showed they can still be the team to beat.
Our Opta Match Center brings you all the Argentina vs Algeria match statistics from the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group J encounter at Kansas City Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on June 17.
The Match Center below includes team and player statistics, expected goals data, passing grids, an Opta whiteboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Below the Match Center, you can find the official Opta stats for the game as well.
Argentina 3-0 Algeria: Post-match facts
- Lionel Messi’s hat-trick took his tally to 16 goals in his World Cup career, equaling Miroslav Klose as the all-time top scorer in the history of the competition.
- Lionel Messi’s three goals took his tally to 16 FIFA World Cup Finals goals for Argentina, exactly 20 years after his first, in a 6-0 win over Serbia and Montenegro at Germany 2006.
- Lionel Messi has scored more goals from outside the penalty area in a World Cup than any other player since 1966, with five, level with Brazilian Rivelino. He is also the second player to score in five different World Cup finals, after Cristiano Ronaldo.
- It was the twelfth hat-trick scored by a CONMEBOL player in a FIFA World Cup, with the Argentines having scored in each of the last four: Lionel Messi in 2026, Gonzalo Higuaín in 2010, and Gabriel Batistuta in 1994 and 1998.
- Rodrigo De Paul recorded his 13th assist in his 88th match for Argentina. It was Lionel Messi’s first assist for Argentina, having previously assisted him five times for Inter Miami.
- Argentina recorded its biggest win in a World Cup opener since 1994, when it beat Greece 4-0 in the United States, another match that saw a hat-trick scored by Gabriel Batistuta.
- Argentina have won their last seven FIFA World Cup matches against CAF teams, since losing their first meeting to Cameroon in the opening match in 1990.
- After avoiding defeat in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup in their first two matches – a win in 1982 and a draw in 1986, Algeria have lost their opening match in each of their last three appearances in the competition: 2010, 2014 and 2026.
- Algeria failed to register a shot on target in a FIFA World Cup match for the first time.
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