Lionel Messi's Hat Trick Leads Argentina to Victory in World Cup Opener
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lionel Messi buried his face in the front of his white-and-blue shirt, dabbing away tears that cut straight through the myth of his permanent calm. Argentina had barely settled into its World Cup opener against Algeria when he struck, and the emotion poured out of him.
Then he went back to work.
One goal became two. Two became three. By the time he walked off to a standing ovation from 69,045 fans inside the home of the NFL’s Chiefs, Messi had delivered a hat trick in a 3-0 win, dragged Argentina into this World Cup with a statement, and pulled level with Miroslav Klose atop the all-time men’s World Cup scoring chart.
Any doubts about the hamstring? Gone. Any questions about whether a 38-year-old, turning 39 next week, could still carry a reigning champion through another tournament? Park them for now.
“The tears after the first goal? I’ve had some tough days. It wasn’t related to football,” Messi said, stopping short of details. “I thank my teammates, the coaching staff and the delegation for helping me.”
A landmark night, 20 years on
This was not just another Messi masterclass. It landed on an anniversary.
Exactly 20 years have passed since a skinny teenager from Rosario stepped onto a World Cup pitch for the first time, against Serbia and Montenegro. He scored that day. He scored again here, three times, and became only the second player to find the net in five editions of the men’s World Cup.
His numbers now are staggering even by his standards: 16 goals across a record six World Cup appearances. He has drawn level with Klose and, on this evidence, the German’s mark is living on borrowed time.
This hat trick was the 61st of Messi’s career, his 11th for Argentina and, remarkably, his first in a World Cup. It also extended his scoring streak to five consecutive World Cup matches.
“It makes me very happy to have lived through everything that came my way. What I’m living through now is the cherry on top,” he said. “I’m very happy and grateful for this wonderful group. I enjoy it so much.”
Lionel Scaloni, usually measured when the topic is Messi, simply ran out of language.
“At a loss for words about Leo. What can I say?” the Argentina coach admitted. “He’s incredible.”
Three goals, three different faces of Messi
The opener, the one that broke him emotionally, came early. Rodrigo De Paul, his Inter Miami teammate and long-time national-team lieutenant, slipped a clever ball into space. Messi ghosted into the gap, shaped his body, and finished with the kind of economy that has defined his career. Then came the tears.
Argentina tightened its grip after the break. Messi pounced on a rebound in the second half, reacting quicker than anyone in green to stab home his second. It was opportunistic, ruthless, the finish of a player who reads every ricochet half a second before the rest.
The third was pure technique. A crisp strike, clean and decisive, lashed into the net moments before Scaloni replaced him to allow the stadium its ovation. The crowd rose as one, blue-and-white shirts and neutrals alike, saluting a player who has turned greatness into routine.
Still the engine, even with a scarred hamstring
A few weeks ago, the conversation around Messi was different. A minor hamstring issue at Inter Miami had raised familiar fears: could his body keep pace with his mind in another compressed, high-intensity tournament?
He answered in the only way he knows. First with a sharp 20-minute cameo and a penalty goal in a tuneup against Iceland. Then with this.
“This is my sixth World Cup, and I still feel like I’m in good shape,” Messi said. “Fortunately, I’m doing well, and today we managed to win a tough match. It’s important to start the tournament with a victory in the first game, as that’s never easy in a World Cup.”
His appearance against Algeria was his 200th for Argentina, a journey that began in 2005 when he was 18. Only Cristiano Ronaldo, who is set to play his 229th game for Portugal on Wednesday, and Kuwait’s Bader al-Mutawa, with 202, sit ahead of him on the men’s all-time international caps list.
Messi and Ronaldo now share another exclusive club: the only men to have scored in five World Cups.
“Class is permanent,” Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic said. “He’s fortunate to have the privilege that the entire Argentina team works for him, and supports him, and for a number of years now — decades — he’s done incredible things.”
Sharing the stage, stealing the night
On a day packed with star turns, Messi still found a way to own the spotlight.
Kylian Mbappé scored twice in France’s 3-1 win over Senegal, pushing himself into a tie for fourth on the all-time World Cup scoring list with 14. Erling Haaland also struck twice, driving Norway to a 4-1 victory over Iraq.
Both had big nights. Messi had a defining one.
“Messi is a madman,” Haaland posted on Snapchat while Argentina’s game unfolded. It was half-joke, half-resigned acknowledgment from a striker who knows what a dominant performance looks like.
Kansas City, painted in No. 10
Argentina chose the Kansas City metro as its base camp, and the region has responded with a fervor usually reserved for playoff runs and parade routes. Messi-mania has swept through the Heartland.
On match day, thousands in No. 10 jerseys streamed toward the stadium on the city’s outskirts, turning the home of the Chiefs into a pocket of Buenos Aires. They sang his name, chanted his songs, and held banners that have followed him from Barcelona to Paris to Miami.
Downtown, at the Power & Light District watch party, the legend of the “GOAT” took on a literal twist. A goat, led on stage by former NFL quarterback-turned-Fox broadcaster Jameis Winston, appeared in an Argentina shirt. The crowd roared. An hour later, Messi scored, and the joke felt more like prophecy.
With each passing match, the argument about whether he is the greatest of all time loses more and more oxygen.
“It’s an advantage to have Leo because of how he handles the group and pushes it forward. Because of who he is,” De Paul said. “He doesn’t care about individual records. He prioritizes the group, and for us it’s incredible.”
Messi insists this is the “cherry on top.” The numbers, the nights like this, suggest he is still adding layers to a career that refuses to stop growing. The World Cup record is within reach, another trophy run is on the table, and the clock is ticking toward his 39th birthday.
If this is the last dance, he is determined to lead it at full volume.
