Tuesday was always going to be a monumental affair. After all, it marked the start of Argentina’s fierce title defense.Nevertheless, the 2026 World Cup opener against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium took on even more significance simply when Messi took the pitch and had left a lasting legacy by the time he exited 80 minutes later. He was substituted off after a stunning hat trick, leaving the entire crowd cheering and bowing down to him.The Argentinian legend started the game at right forward and, upon the opening whistle, became the first player to ever play in six men’s World Cups. Cristiano Ronaldo will likely join him at the summit on Wednesday in Portugal’s opener against the D.R. Congo, both legends having competed on soccer’s grandest stage since 2006 Germany. Nevertheless, Messi claims the right to say he was the first. The match also marked Messi’s 200th for La Albiceleste, extending his all-time appearances record. Former Argentinian teammate and Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano is far behind him in second with 147 total caps, retiring from international play in 2018. Messi forms an elite group of just Ronaldo (228) and Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa (202) to reach the 200th mark for their respective nations. The appearance also extended Messi’s World Cup appearances record to 27 games.As if Messi’s simple appearance on the pitch wasn’t significant enough, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner capped the moment with his first goal in the 17th minute, to give Argentina a 1–0 edge. Messi, facing his midfield teammates, received the ball on the half-turn from the center of the pitch before barreling towards the goal. Algeria’s center backs, Aïssa Mandi and Ramy Bensebaini, made their reluctance to step to the star abundantly clear, giving Messi the perfect opportunity to fire a left-footed shot from outside the box into the upper right-hand corner of the net, past the desperate fingertips of goalkeeper Luca Zidane. With that finish, Messi became the second man ever to score a goal in five total World Cups, alongside Ronaldo. It also signified Messi’s fifth goal from outside of the box at the World Cup, matching the most of any player since 1966 (Rivellino), according to Opta.The records just kept coming. That first goal meant Messi secured a fifth consecutive World Cup match with a goal, one shy of the record six-consecutive, achieved just twice and not in this century, by Just Fontaine in 1958 and Jaizinho in 1970. Oh, and then Messi scored again, because once wasn’t enough. He capitalized on the goalkeeper’s deflected ball in the 60th minute, punishing Algeria with a blistering strike. Messi added a third shortly after because his first two finishes were evidently lonely. With the hat trick—Messi’s first-ever on the World Cup stage—his World Cup goals total increased to 16, matching the tournament record set by Germany’s Miroslav Klose. Kylian Mbappé scored a brace in France’s opener on Tuesday too, extending his goals amount to 14. The two soccer legends will certainly be in a ferocious battle for the record this summer, but for now, the crown belongs to Messi and Klose.Just days away from his 39th birthday, Messi is showing absolutely no sign of slowing down, continuing to be the talisman of the South American powerhouse.READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow