Superstar Lionel Messi scored a hat trick in Argentina’s 2026 World Cup opener against Algeria, scoring his 120th goal with the national team and tying the all-time World Cup goal-scoring record, held by Germany’s Miroslav Klose (16).

In the 75th minute, the Argentine captain picked up the ball at the edge of the area. After dribbling to his left, he opened a gap to slot the ball into the bottom-right corner for his third goal of the match.

Messi had already scored the opening goal after De Paul found him free in the middle of the pitch in the 16th minute. The Rosario-born star opened up a gap for a shot and put it in the top left corner from outside the box.

In the second half, he extended Argentina’s lead to 2-0, tapping in a rebound after a shot by midfielder Alexis Mac Allister at the 60-minute mark.

The second half has been a dominant affair for Argentina, who have nullified Algeria’s attacks and controlled the ball.

The game started as a closely contested match, with the team coached by Lionel Scaloni maintaining possession with its rival pressing high to hound the Albiceleste. In the first ten minutes, both teams already had goals disallowed for offside. 

Argentina is looking to become the first South American team to secure three points.

The lineups

After a recovery against the clock, the team features most of the usual starters, with only left back Nicolás Tagliafico discarded by injury.

Argentina’s lineup is Emiliano Martínez; Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, and Facundo Medina; Rodrigo de Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández, and Thiago Almada; captain Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez.

Algeria goes out with Luca Zidane; Rafik Belghali, Aissa Mandi, Ramy Bensebaini, and Rayan Ait-Nouri; Hicham Boudauni and Nabil Bentaleb; Anis Hadj Moussa, Ibrahim Maza and Fares Chaibi; and Amine Gouiri.

In the buildup, head coach Lionel Scaloni insisted that Algeria is a rival similar to Morocco, which posed a serious challenge to Brazil.

“We learned from the last World Cup that this isn’t over after a single match. We’re doing well, we’re confident, and we’re in a good moment,” he said.

The game is being played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, where Argentina will play two of its World Cup group stage games. With a capacity for 73,000 spectators, it is regularly the home to the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.

Cover Photo: Selección Argentina Twitter