Argentina captain Lionel Messi marked the start of his record-breaking sixth FIFA World Cup with a stunning hat-trick on Tuesday, equalling the tournament’s all-time scoring record as the reigning champions cruised to a 3-0 victory over Algeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that the 38-year-old delivered a masterclass at the 69,045-capacity Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, leading Argentina to a dominant Group J win while matching German legend Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals.
Messi had already made history before kickoff, becoming the first player to feature in six World Cup tournaments during his landmark 200th international appearance for Argentina.
The Argentine icon then capped the occasion with the first World Cup hat-trick of his illustrious career.
His opening goal, a curling effort in the 17th minute, took his World Cup tally to 14, drawing level with German great Gerd Muller and France star Kylian Mbappe. Messi moved onto 15 goals in the 60th minute after converting a rebound from an Alexis Mac Allister effort before completing his treble in the 76th minute with a low finish from the edge of the box.
The goal saw him draw level with Klose atop the World Cup scoring charts before he exited to a standing ovation four minutes later.
Despite the achievement, Messi downplayed the significance of the milestone.
“It’s an honor to be there, given what it means to stand alongside Klose or the others — Ronaldo is there too — but I don’t think it means anything. In the end, it’s just a statistic and nothing more,” Messi said.
Argentina, who defeated France in the dramatic 2022 World Cup final in Doha, opened their title defence in emphatic fashion. France also made a winning start, defeating Senegal 3-1 with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice.
France coach Didier Deschamps praised the forward after the match.
“There are still people out there who will criticise him, but he is an extraordinary player,” Deschamps said.
“Not everything came off for him, but he can win games in one moment.”
Mbappe’s brace saw him surpass Olivier Giroud to become France’s all-time leading goalscorer with 58 goals in 99 appearances.
Elsewhere, Norway striker Erling Haaland enjoyed a dream World Cup debut, scoring twice in a 4-1 victory over Iraq in Group I.
The Manchester City star found the net in the 29th minute before restoring Norway’s lead following an Iraqi equaliser. The goals took his international tally to an impressive 57 goals in just 51 matches.
Substitute Leo Ostigard added a third before an own goal from Aymen Hussein sealed Norway’s first World Cup win since returning to the tournament for the first time since 1998.
Norway coach Stale Solbakken was delighted with Haaland’s performance.
“You could see that he adapted to the occasion, the occasion wasn’t too big for him.”
“I had a good feeling before the game. I had quite a comfortable feeling that he would do it for us today,” Solbakken said.
In another Group J fixture, Austria overcame a spirited challenge from World Cup debutants Jordan to secure a 3-1 victory at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Romano Schmid gave Austria the lead with a long-range strike in the 21st minute before Ali Olwan scored Jordan’s historic first-ever World Cup goal early in the second half.
Austria regained control in the 76th minute through a Yazan Al-Arab own goal, while veteran forward Marko Arnautovic converted a stoppage-time penalty to seal the win.
