Messi’s Historic Hat-trick Rewrites World Cup Record Books

Lionel Messi added another remarkable chapter to his legendary career as the Argentine captain produced a stunning hat-trick in Argentina's opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, leading the defending champions to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Wednesday.

The football icon scored in the 17th, 60th and 76th minutes to complete his first-ever World Cup hat-trick on a historic night that also marked his 200th international appearance for Argentina.

At 38 years and 357 days old, Messi became the oldest player in World Cup history to score a hat-trick. The three goals took his World Cup tally to 16, drawing level with Germany legend Miroslav Klose's all-time tournament record. One more goal in Argentina's next match would see Messi become the outright leading scorer in World Cup history.

By taking the field against Algeria, Messi also became the first footballer ever to appear in six different World Cups — 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026. Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to join the exclusive club later when Portugal face Congo.

The match was another milestone for Messi, who became only the third player in international football history to reach 200 appearances for his national team, following Cristiano Ronaldo and Kuwait's Bader Al-Mutawa. His international goal tally now stands at 120.

Despite recording numerous hat-tricks during his illustrious international career, Messi had never managed one on football's biggest stage before. He finally completed that achievement by beating Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane, son of French football great Zinedine Zidane.

Messi also broke Roger Milla's long-standing record as the oldest player to score multiple goals in a single World Cup match. The Cameroon legend had set the previous mark at the 1990 World Cup when he was 38 years and 34 days old.

The Argentine captain further joined Cristiano Ronaldo as only the second player to score in five different World Cups. Coincidentally, the feat came exactly 20 years after Messi made his World Cup debut against Serbia on June 17, 2006, during the tournament in Germany.

One of his goals came from outside the penalty area, taking his total number of World Cup goals from beyond the box to five. That matched the record held by Brazilian legend Rivelino for the most World Cup goals scored from outside the area since 1966.

With a breathtaking performance filled with records and milestones, Messi once again demonstrated why he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in football history. Argentina's title defense could hardly have begun in a more emphatic fashion.