He’s the greatest of all time for a reason.
Lionel Messi opened Argentina’s World Cup defense run with a special hat-trick, his first ever in the tournament in a 3-0 win vs. Algeria in Kansas City on Tuesday.
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He’s now tied with Germany’s Miroslav Klose with 16 goals all time in the men’s tournament. He was subbed off for rising youngster Nico Paz with 10 minutes to go before stoppage time, so he couldn’t break the record in the same night.
It all started in the 17th minute when Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul delivered a perfect splitting ball that broke Algeria’s mid-block. Messi then turned and ran into space before drilling one past goalie Luca Zidane.
Messi, who turns 39 on June 24, had actually opened the scoring even earlier than that, bursting down the right flank and clipping it home. However, it was ruled offside.
A similar instance transpired for Algeria shortly after in the opening 10 minutes. Left midfielder Fares Chaibi broke free beyond Argentina’s backline and tricked Emi Martinez by rolling the ball to the bottom left corner. But he was also slightly offside before the pass came in.
Messi then made it a brace in the 60th minute. Alexis Mac Allister attempted a long-range hit of his own that rolled kindly, with the parry by Zidane not going as planned.
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La Pulga was the first to it on the rebound and poked home, showing off his attacking instincts.
Messi then made it a hat-trick in the 76th minute with another curling effort with his left boot, this time going lower. It simply had too much power for Zidane to reach. It marked his first ever World Cup hat-trick, believe it or not.
Messi’s 16-goal tally repasses the mark French star Kylian Mbappe reached earlier Tuesday in a 3-1 result vs. Senegal. Klose is the initial holder of the 16-goal record, and either former Paris Saint-Germain star is in pole position to break it.
The Argentine is also the second man to score at five different World Cups, with Cristiano Ronaldo doing so with Portugal in 2022. The 2026 tournament is Messi’s sixth after he debuted in 2006, where he also scored.
Next up for Argentina is Austria before it ends the group with Jordan. Both teams are not at the same level as Messi and Co., so the goal record feels inevitable.
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Enjoy Messi while you can.