By Ebiere Kekeboro
Lionel Messi delivered yet another unforgettable chapter in his legendary career on Tuesday night, scoring a hat-trick to inspire Argentina to a 3–0 victory over Algeria in what marked his sixth FIFA World Cup appearance.
The 38-year-old Argentina captain, Lionel Messi, also became the most decorated player in World Cup history on a landmark night at Kansas City Stadium, where he made his 200th international appearance.
In doing so, Messi became the first male footballer to feature in six World Cup tournaments, a milestone that will be matched by Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, who is also set to make his sixth appearance in the ongoing tournament, while Mexico’s veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa could join the exclusive list if he features.
The match did not start smoothly for the Argentine captain, as an early strike in the fourth minute was ruled out by the referee. However, Messi soon found his rhythm, levelling records in the 17th minute when he scored his first goal of the night to match France forward Kylian Mbappé on 14 World Cup goals at the time.
His second goal came after Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane spilled a save, allowing Messi to react quickest and slot home his 15th World Cup goal, drawing him level with Brazilian icon Ronaldo’s long-standing record before surpassing it later in the game.
Messi then completed his hat-trick in trademark fashion, calmly finishing to seal Argentina’s dominant win and equalling Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup record of 16 goals.
The night also carried historical symmetry, coming exactly 20 years after Messi made his World Cup debut for Argentina in 2006. It added to his growing list of records, including becoming both Argentina’s youngest World Cup scorer and now the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick.
He was later substituted to a standing ovation in the 70,000-capacity stadium, with rising talent Nico Paz taking his place as Argentina comfortably saw out the match.
Messi’s latest milestone pushes his international goal tally to 120, reinforcing his status as one of football’s most prolific scorers.
With Argentina’s campaign off to a strong start, attention now turns to their upcoming Group B fixtures against Austria in Dallas and Jordan later in the month, as they aim to defend their world title.
Should Messi lead Argentina to another triumph, he would become the first Argentine captain to win back-to-back World Cups, a feat even the late Diego Maradona never achieved.