Messi hat-trick gives Argentina a stunning start as they thrash Algeria

Messi was on the clock for the seventeenth minute. When he started to move forward from the midfield with the ball on his feet, the familiar roar in the gallery of the Kansas City Stadium. When the ball hit the net with his trademark left-foot shot, fooling the Algerian defenders, it was proven once again that even though the time has changed, Lionel Messi has not changed. Argentina has blown away Algeria 3-0 in their campaign to retain their title in the 2026 World Cup, and captain Messi wrote the story of the entire match alone.

He has achieved many feats in the World Cup before, but he has never seen a hat-trick. At the age of 39, LM Ten has also erased that imperfection in his career. After leading by one goal in the first half, he single-handedly pulled Argentina in the second half. In the sixty minute of the match, Alexis Mac Alistair’s long-range powerful shot was not properly controlled by Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane. Messi, who came out like a hawk, doubled the gap with a gentle tap-in on the return ball.

But the real fairy tale moment came in the 76th minute. The stadium gallery was in a frenzy when he scored his third goal with a perfect finish from a pass from Nico Gonzalez. With this hat-trick, the Argentine magician touched another epic record. It was his 16th goal in the World Cup, which put him on the throne of the highest scorer of the World Cup alongside Miroslav Klose.

After this historic performance, when coach Lionel Scaloni decided to take him off in the 79th minute, thousands of spectators in the gallery stood and saluted the legend. Young Nico Paz came on as Messi’s replacement.

Despite Lautaro Martinez and Thiago Almadara’s efforts throughout the match, Messi was the main headache for the Algerian defense. Rodrigo de Paul and Mac Alistair kept the ball in the middle and provided the captain with the ball. Algeria tried to be a little more aggressive towards the end, but they were unable to break through the defense of Emiliano Martinez and Lisandro Martinez. In the end, Messi’s magical hat-trick gave the Albiceleste a full three points with a 3-0 victory.