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Lionel Messi scored a majestic hat-trick to equal the all-time World Cup scoring record, answering doubts about his influence at age 38 and breathing life into Argentina’s title defence with a 3-0 Group J win over Algeria on Tuesday.
He drew level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose with 16 goals in total and became the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick, exactly 20 years to the day since his first goal at the global tournament.
The opening game in Group J at Kansas City Stadium saw another masterclass from the Argentina captain, who turns 39 later this month and was marking his 200th cap for his country as he became the first player to compete at six World Cups.
He had the crowd celebrating what they thought was a dream start with a goal in the opening five minutes but it was chalked off for offside.
