In a few days Lionel Messi will turn 39 years old, but in the debut of the Argentine National Team in it World Cup 2026 -his sixth World Cup-, the Albiceleste captain shone as if it were his first time in the most important nations tournament. His hat trick sealed the first victory of the reigning champions over Algeria (3-0) in the first game of group J.
In Kansas City, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner He played his 200th match with the Argentina shirt and also – until Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut – he became the first footballer to play in six World Cups. He achieved his dream of becoming champion four years ago, but he made it clear that he will seek to defend the crown and, in the process, become the World Cup top scorer. With his performance against Algeria he reached 16 goals, surpassing the ‘Phenomenon’ Ronaldo Nazário and equaling the figure of the German Miroslav Klose. Next day against Austria, that record could be theirs alone.
Read also World Cup 2026: Lionel Messi makes history with a hat trick and Argentina debuts with victory
At minute 9 of the first half, the Argentine star warned that he was going to give the Desert Foxes a night of terror, but his “first score” of the game was disallowed for offside. A few minutes later, his revenge arrived. Algeria made the mistake of giving him time and space and with a long-distance shot – and the collaboration of a fragile Luca Zidane– he wrote down the first one in his name.
The African team was close to tying the game, but the VAR annulled the equality due to offside. From there, those led by Vladimir Petković became spectators of Lionel’s show.
In the second half, Zidane (60′) made a mistake again and after leaving the ball in the center of the area with a rebound, Messi pushed his second goal into the back of the net. The hat trick had the seal of the house. The Argentine number 10 scored the goal he scored so many times and for some reason, it is still just as effective. He received the pass from Nicolás González on the left side and with a hook towards the center, he unleashed a low shot that was impossible for the son of the French legend to stop.
