Lionel Messi scored a record-breaking hat-trick as reigning champions Argentina opened their World Cup title defence with a commanding 3-0 victory over Algeria in Kansas City.
The 39-year-old captain delivered another landmark performance on football’s biggest stage, becoming the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick and moving level with Miroslav Klose as the leading scorer in men’s World Cup history with 16 goals.
Argentina eventually secured a comfortable victory, but the opening stages suggested Algeria were prepared to challenge the holders.
Both sides had goals ruled out for offside within a frenetic opening eight minutes.
Messi thought he had given Argentina the lead in the fourth minute after finishing clinically beyond Lucas Zidane, only for the assistant referee’s flag to cut short the celebrations.
Algeria responded with an effort of their own four minutes later when Fares Chaibi found the net, but his strike was also correctly disallowed for offside.
The champions gradually began to assert control and deservedly moved ahead in the 17th minute.
Receiving possession well outside the penalty area, Messi unleashed a stunning long-range effort that flew beyond Zidane and into the net, leaving the goalkeeper with little chance.
Algeria continued to show flashes of attacking promise and occasionally troubled Argentina’s defence, but they struggled to create clear-cut opportunities against a side growing in confidence.
Argentina carried their one-goal advantage into the interval and emerged for the second half determined to put the contest beyond doubt.
Messi struck again shortly after the restart to double the lead. Alexis Mac Allister’s effort forced Zidane into a save, but the goalkeeper could only parry the ball into the path of the waiting Argentine captain, who reacted quickest to convert the rebound from close range.
The second goal effectively drained belief from the Algerian challenge, although they continued to battle against opponents who were beginning to find their rhythm.
Messi completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute with a finish befitting another memorable World Cup display.
Collecting a pass on the edge of the penalty area, he shifted the ball onto his favoured left foot before curling a precise effort into the bottom-left corner, giving Zidane no chance and bringing the crowd to its feet.
The strike not only sealed Argentina’s victory but also etched another chapter into Messi’s extraordinary World Cup legacy.
His treble saw him draw level with Germany great Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals, while also making him the oldest player ever to score a hat-trick at the tournament.
For Argentina, the result provides the perfect start to their defence of the trophy and sends an early warning to the rest of the field. For Algeria, despite moments of encouragement, defeat leaves them with work to do in their remaining Group J fixtures.
As for Messi, the records continue to fall.
Just when it seemed there was little left for him to achieve on football’s grandest stage, the Argentine captain once again reminded the world why he remains one of the game’s defining figures.
