Messi nets first World Cup hat-trick as Argentina opens title defense with 3-0 win
Messi’s first World Cup hat-trick lifted Argentina past Algeria and into history, tying Miroslav Klose on 16 goals while powering a clean title-defense opening.
Lionel Messi turned Argentina’s opening match into a statement about both history and continuity, scoring his first World Cup hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas City. The victory gave the defending champions a sharp start to the 2026 tournament, but the larger significance was Messi’s place in the record book: at 16 World Cup goals, he matched Miroslav Klose for the men’s all-time mark and moved ahead of Ronaldo Nazário.
Messi scored in the 17th, 60th and 76th minutes, the kind of spread that underlined not only individual brilliance but sustained control over the match. The first goal carried added weight because it was also his 200th for Argentina, a milestone that reflects how far his international output has stretched beyond any single tournament. In his sixth World Cup, Messi did more than chase a record. He claimed it outright in shared form and did so with the first treble of his World Cup career.
For Argentina, the performance mattered beyond the numbers attached to Messi. Reports before kickoff suggested he was dealing with a hamstring issue, yet the 38-year-old answered every doubt with movement, timing and finishing that never looked compromised. The match was not a rescue act from one fading great. It was a comfortable, complete opening from a team that entered the tournament as the reigning champion and immediately looked organized enough to keep its title defense on track.
That is the sharper conclusion from Kansas City. Argentina did not simply survive its opener on the back of nostalgia for Messi’s past. Lionel Scaloni’s side controlled Algeria with a three-goal margin, protected its lead and turned a potentially awkward first game into an authoritative start. If Argentina is to become one of the few national teams to win consecutive World Cups, it will need nights like this, where Messi supplies the history and the rest of the team supplies the structure that makes the history hold.
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