Argentina's superstar Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a hat trick against Algeria in their Fifa World Cup opener.
There was always an underlying feeling that if Lionel Messi was going to make more Fifa World Cup history, he would do it spectacularly.
Against Algeria, the Argentina captain transformed his nation’s opening match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup into another deeply personal landmark night, producing a masterclass hat-trick that shattered international records and deepened his already extraordinary legacy.
With Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland having scored clinical braces for their respective nations earlier in the round, Messi went one better to help the Albiceleste seize firm control of Group J with an emphatic 3-0 victory in Missouri.
The first historic milestone arrived the second the match kicked off. At 38 years old, Messi became the first footballer in history to compete in six different FIFA World Cup tournaments, a remarkable testament to his longevity spanning two decades at the absolute apex of the global game.
