Playing at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Argentina dominated possession and chances throughout the match, while Messi once again delivered on football’s biggest stage in his 200th appearance for the national team.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner thought he had opened the scoring after just five minutes when he cut inside and finished neatly past goalkeeper Luca Zidane, son of French great Zinedine Zidane. However, the goal was ruled out for offside.
Algeria briefly threatened moments later when Fares Chaibi found the net following a clever pass from Ibrahim Maza, but that effort was also disallowed for offside.
Messi eventually broke the deadlock in the 17th minute with a trademark strike. Left unmarked outside the penalty area, the Argentine captain unleashed a powerful shot beyond Zidane’s reach to score his 14th World Cup goal and give the defending champions a deserved lead.
The South Americans doubled their advantage in the 60th minute through Messi again. After Martinez launched a long ball forward, Messi combined with Alexis Mac Allister before the Liverpool midfielder’s shot was parried by Zidane. Messi reacted quickest to tap home the rebound and move level with Brazil legend Ronaldo Nazario on 15 World Cup goals.
Algeria introduced experienced attackers Riyad Mahrez, Houssem Aouar and Mohamed Amoura in an attempt to spark a comeback, but Argentina continued to create the better opportunities. Zidane denied Messi a hat-trick with an excellent save midway through the second half.
The 38-year-old eventually completed his treble in the 76th minute. Collecting the ball outside the box, Messi steadied himself before curling a trademark left-footed finish into the corner to make it 3-0 and join Klose atop the World Cup scoring charts.
Messi was substituted shortly afterward to a standing ovation, having produced another memorable performance in what could be his final World Cup campaign.
Algeria rarely troubled Argentina in the closing stages and appeared resigned to defeat as the reigning champions comfortably saw out the match.
The victory gives Argentina an ideal start to Group J and sends an early warning to their rivals, while Messi moves within one goal of becoming the outright top scorer in World Cup history.
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