Lionel Messi's Historic Hat Trick Powers Argentina to 3-0 Rout of Algeria in 2026 World Cup Opener

Messi ties Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup scoring record, becomes the oldest player to score a World Cup hat trick, and gives defending champion Argentina the perfect start to its title defense in Kansas City.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lionel Messi made sure Argentina's defense of its World Cup title started nothing like the last one did. Four years after the Albiceleste stumbled out of the gate with a shocking loss to Saudi Arabia, Messi scored all three goals in a 3-0 demolition of Algeria on Tuesday night at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, delivering the first World Cup hat trick of his legendary career in front of a sellout crowd of 69,045.

The performance instantly became one of the signature moments of the opening week of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Messi's three goals pushed his career tally to 16, pulling him level with Germany's Miroslav Klose for the most goals ever scored at a men's World Cup — a record that had stood since 2014.

By the Numbers

• Final score: Argentina 3, Algeria 0
• Messi's goals: 17th, 60th, and 76th minutes
• Career World Cup goals: 16 (tied with Miroslav Klose for the all-time record)
• Attendance: 69,045, a sellout at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
• Messi's age: 38, turning 39 on June 24
• Milestone: Messi's 200th international cap for Argentina
• Up next: Argentina faces Austria on June 22 and Jordan on June 27 in Group J

How It Happened: Argentina's Statement Win

The opening minutes hinted at the back-and-forth night to come. Algeria's Fares Chaibi thought he'd put the underdogs ahead, only for a VAR review to wipe the goal off the board for offside. Messi briefly suffered the same fate moments later when one of his own efforts was also flagged.

He didn't have to wait long to make the right one count. In the 17th minute, Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul slid a perfectly weighted through ball into the box, and Messi drove forward before unleashing a powerful strike that beat Algerian goalkeeper Luca Zidane — son of World Cup legend Zinedine Zidane — to put Argentina ahead.

Algeria pushed back before halftime, forcing a sharp near-post save from Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano "Dibu" Martínez, but the rest of the night belonged to the Albiceleste. Messi doubled the lead in the 60th minute, pouncing on a rebound after Alexis Mac Allister's long-range effort was only parried by Zidane. Sixteen minutes later, he put the result beyond doubt with a beautifully placed, dipping left-footed finish into the corner — his first career World Cup hat trick, completed in his sixth World Cup appearance.

With the job done, Messi was subbed off for rising 21-year-old Nico Paz roughly 10 minutes from the final whistle, walking off to a standing ovation from the heavily pro-Argentina crowd and a handshake from the match referee.

A Night for the Record Books

Tuesday's win checked off an unusually long list of milestones for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner:

Messi's hat trick was his 11th at the international level for Argentina, but remarkably the first of his career at a World Cup — a gap finally closed two decades after his tournament debut. In fact, the timing was almost poetic: the goals came exactly 20 years to the day after Messi's first-ever World Cup appearance, a 2006 match against Serbia and Montenegro in which he also scored.

The night also turned into an unofficial duel for soccer's GOAT title. Earlier Tuesday, France's Kylian Mbappé had scored twice in a 3-1 win over Senegal to briefly move ahead of Messi as the World Cup's active scoring leader. Messi's hat trick that evening answered emphatically, lifting him past Mbappé again and into a share of the outright career record with Klose. At 38, he also became the oldest player in tournament history to score a hat trick in a single World Cup match, and just the second player ever — joining Cristiano Ronaldo — to find the net across five different World Cup tournaments.

What They're Saying

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni didn't try to overanalyze what he'd just watched. "He has been doing it for 20 years," Scaloni said afterward, crediting Messi's sustained brilliance for why fans around the globe still tune in to watch him play.

Messi himself stayed characteristically humble when asked about joining Klose atop the record books, noting simply, "It's an honor being up there for what it means," before pointing out that Mbappé — who scored twice himself earlier that day — belongs in that conversation too.

The Big Picture: Defending the Crown

Argentina arrived in Kansas City as defending champions looking to avoid a repeat of 2022, when the team's World Cup campaign began with a stunning loss to Saudi Arabia before an unforgettable run to the title against France on penalties. Much of that championship core — Messi, De Paul, Mac Allister, Martínez, Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez among them — returned for the 2026 tournament, and the continuity showed against an overmatched Algeria side.

The match also carried symbolic weight for the host city. Arrowhead Stadium's World Cup run fulfills a decades-old dream tied to the late Lamar Hunt, the Kansas City Chiefs founder and pioneering figure in growing American soccer who helped bring the 1994 World Cup to the U.S. His sons, Clark and Dan Hunt, carried that legacy forward Tuesday night in a stadium that also counted Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes among the 69,045 fans in attendance.

What's Next for Argentina

The win puts Argentina firmly in control of Group J, which also includes Austria and Jordan. The Albiceleste will look to clinch a knockout-round spot when they face Austria on June 22, followed by a meeting with Jordan on June 27 — both matches offering Messi another chance to break the all-time World Cup scoring record outright.

How to Watch the Rest of the 2026 World Cup in the U.S.

For fans wanting to follow Messi's chase for World Cup history, every match of the tournament is available in the United States through several options:

• English-language broadcasts: Fox and FS1, with streaming on Fox One and the Fox Sports app (select matches also stream free on Tubi)
• Spanish-language broadcasts: Telemundo and Universo, with streaming on Peacock and the Telemundo app
• Live streaming alternatives: YouTube TV, Fubo, and Hulu + Live TV all carry the relevant channels for cord-cutters

Final Word

Tuesday's win was equal parts statement and victory lap. Argentina got the dominant start to its title defense that eluded the team four years ago, and Messi reminded the soccer world — yet again — that age has done little to slow him down. With two group matches still to play, the question now isn't whether Messi can still deliver on the World Cup's biggest stage. It's how many more records he has left to break before this tournament is over.