Messi Delivers Historic Hat-Trick
Argentina launched their World Cup title defense in style with a 3-1 victory over Algeria in Kansas City.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi had a phenomenal start to his final World Cup with a hat trick in the opening match. Messi was overcome with emotion after opening the scoring with a stunning strike from outside the box.
Messi scored his first-ever hat trick in the World Cup in a match that he played as a defending World Cup champion, which gives a special feeling to the player and his admirers around the world.
Records Continue to Fall for Messi
He became the first-ever player to feature in six editions of the Football World Cup in history, and by completing his hat trick, the Argentinian has become joint top scorer in World Cup history along with Miroslav Klose of Germany.
Lionel Messi became the player with the most goal contributions in FIFA World Cup history, registering 24 direct goal involvements (16 goals and 8 assists) and surpassing Pelé's long-standing record of 21.
Messi also became only the second player in history to score in five different World Cups, joining Cristiano Ronaldo.
Midfield Dominates Algeria
Argentina got a dream start to their title-defending mission with phenomenal performances from every player on the pitch. Cuti Romero and Lisandro Martínez ruled the defense while Enzo, Macalister, and Rodrigo De Paul dominated the middle of the pitch with exceptional quality in passing and movements. Messi led the attack once again to glory.
Argentina will face Austria in their second Group J match as they look to secure qualification for the knockout stages.