Messi Makes World Cup History as Argentina Begin Title Defence with Dominant Victory Over Algeria

KANSAS CITY — Football legend Lionel Messi delivered another unforgettable World Cup performance, scoring a sensational hat-trick as defending champions Argentina opened their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a commanding 3-0 victory over Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Argentine captain etched his name deeper into football history by equalling the all-time FIFA World Cup scoring record of 16 goals, matching the mark set by German great Miroslav Klose. The remarkable achievement came during Messi’s sixth World Cup appearance and reinforced his status as one of the greatest players the game has ever seen.

Argentina entered the tournament determined to avoid a repeat of their shock opening defeat to Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup. This time, however, there was no upset as Messi inspired a professional and dominant display that placed the South American giants firmly in control of Group J.

The 38-year-old thought he had opened the scoring within five minutes when he calmly finished into the bottom corner, only for a narrow offside decision to rule out the effort.

Algeria briefly believed they had taken the lead moments later when Fares Chaibi found the net after being played through by Ibrahim Maza. However, a VAR review overturned the goal, maintaining the deadlock.

Argentina soon took full advantage of the reprieve. In the 17th minute, Messi combined brilliantly with Rodrigo De Paul before unleashing a powerful strike from outside the penalty area that flew into the roof of the net, giving Argentina a deserved 1-0 advantage.

The North African side struggled to create meaningful opportunities after the setback. Despite a promising chance for Chaibi, Algeria failed to trouble Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez regularly and lacked the attacking threat needed to challenge the reigning world champions.

Argentina continued to dominate possession and territory throughout the match. Lautaro Martinez and Alexis Mac Allister both tested Algerian goalkeeper Luca Zidane, who produced several excellent saves to keep his side in contention.

However, the resistance was broken again shortly after the hour mark. Mac Allister’s effort was parried by Zidane, but Messi reacted quickest inside the penalty area to slot home the rebound and score his second goal of the evening.

The goal moved Messi onto 15 career World Cup goals, level with Brazilian icon Ronaldo and just one behind Klose’s longstanding record.

The historic moment arrived in the 76th minute. Collecting a pass from Nicolas Gonzalez, Messi expertly created space before drilling a low shot into the corner of the net to complete his hat-trick and equal Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals.

The crowd rose to its feet moments later when Messi was substituted, applauding another masterclass from the Argentine superstar whose influence on the international stage continues to grow even in the twilight of his career.

Algeria offered little attacking threat throughout the contest and managed only one shot on target. The surprising decision to leave veteran forward Riyad Mahrez on the bench failed to provide the spark they needed against one of the tournament favourites.

For Argentina, the victory represents the ideal start to their quest for back-to-back World Cup titles. The defending champions displayed composure, experience and attacking quality, while Messi once again demonstrated why he remains football’s defining figure.

With group-stage matches against Austria and Jordan still to come, Messi now has multiple opportunities to move beyond Klose and become the outright leading goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history.

As Argentina celebrated a perfect opening night, the football world was once again left marvelling at a player whose remarkable journey continues to rewrite the record books.

Courtesy: rte