New Delhi: Lionel Messi scored his first World Cup hattrick on Wednesday. His three goals came against Algeria at the Kansas City Stadium. With this, the football legend scored 16 goals across his six World Cups, becoming the joint-top scorer with Miroslav Klose.
Defending champions Argentina started the game with an attacking 4-3-3 formation, with Messi playing at his trademark position—the right wing. And, the performance was vintage Messi—calm, clinical and decisive. He opened the scoresheet in the 17th minute, added another after halftime, and completed his hattrick late in the match before getting subbed off to a standing ovation in the 80th minute.
The first goal came from a piercing through ball, with Messi receiving it before turning and cutting outside with his iconic left foot and smashing it into the top-right corner. Algerian goalkeeper Luca Zidane tried hard, but the ball clipped his hand and went inside the net.
In the 60th minute, Messi scored his second goal. It was a poacher’s finish after a long shot from midfielder Alexis Mac Allister rebounded off the goalkeeper. Messi pounced on the opportunity and tapped home with his right foot. In the 76th minute, Messi received a low cross just outside the D-box, made way for himself with two touches and fired into the bottom left corner.
At 38, Messi also became the oldest player to score a hattrick at the football’s biggest tournament.
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Messi vs Mbappe
Messi’s World Cup journey has been nothing short of extraordinary. Since making his tournament debut in 2006, he has now scored across six different World Cups — another historic achievement no other player has managed. His overall World Cup record now includes 16 goals and eight assists in 27 appearances, further strengthening his legacy as one of football’s greatest-ever players.
But beyond goals, Messi also holds the record for most appearances in the World Cup. Almost 7306 days after his debut in the World Cup in 2006, La Pulga entered the 2026 FIFA World Cup having achieved it all—World Cup, Balon D’Ors, Golden Boots and Golden Ball. Yet in his 200th appearance for Argentina, Messi etched his name in another milestone.
However, while Messi continues to dominate headlines, another superstar is rapidly emerging as his biggest challenger: France’s Kylian Mbappé. The French forward has already scored 14 World Cup goals despite still being just 27 years old.
Mbappé famously scored a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina and has consistently delivered on football’s biggest stage. Just before Messi’s hat-trick, Mbappe scored a brace against the African Champions Senegal in their opening game 3-1 victory.
While Argentina is scheduled for a face-off with Austria on 22 June, France will play against Iraq the day after.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)