Missouri [US], June 17 (ANI): Some legends age like fine-wine and Argentine superstar Lionel Messi showed that he is stil the Greatest of All time as he lead defending champions Argentina to a 3-0 rout of Algeria with a super display of touch football. Messi kicked off his FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign off in a brilliant fashion for the La Albiceleste as he put on a masterclass display for the world to sit back and admire.
Lionel Messi's first World Cup hat-trick makes him the joint top scorer in men's World Cup history with 16 goals, level with Germany's Miroslav Klose. The hat-trick comes a week before his 39th birthday making him the oldest player to ever score a hat-trick at a World Cup.
Notably, Messi scored the hat-trick exactly 20 years since his first World Cup goal, which came on June 16, 2006, in Argentina's 6-0 win over Serbia in the 2006 World Cup.
In his 200th appearance for Argentina. A quick free-kick from De Paul found Messi in midfield, and the captain took off through the heart of the pitch. Spotting an opening, he unleashes a thunderous strike from distance that brushes the fingertips of Luca Zidane before crashing into the top corner as Argentina found the first goal of the day in the 17th minute.
It was Messi once again on the scoresheet, after a clever disguised pass set Gonzalez free down the left wing. Gonzalez delivered a cross into the box that was heroically cleared to Mac Allister in midfield. The Liverpool star struck from range, but Zidane could only push the low effort into a dangerous area. Messi, who had quietly positioned himself, reacted quickest to tap in the rebound for one of the easiest goals of his career.
In the 76th minute, Messi started the move himself with a mazy dribble in the centre circle before releasing it wide to Nico Gonzalez on the left. The substitute had taken a touch and then laid it back to Messi on the edge of the box. What followed was inevitable, as the Argentine legend curled a low drive into the bottom corner to complete his hat-trick. (ANI)
