Argentina has made a strong start to its title defense campaign in the FIFA World Cup 2026. Argentina has shown that it is ready for the second consecutive title by winning 3-0 against Algeria on Wednesday (June 17). Lionel Messi was the hero of this victory of the defending champion team. By scoring a hat-trick, Messi gave the spectators present at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and football fans around the world a moment which they will remember for a long time.
This was 38-year-old Messi’s first World Cup hat-trick. Messi, playing his sixth World Cup, is the oldest player to achieve this feat. He broke the record of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Spain in the 2018 World Cup at the age of 33 years and 122 days. Messi also equaled Ronaldo’s record of scoring goals in 5 World Cups. Not only this, he has jointly reached number-1 in the list of top scorers of this tournament.
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Messi stood equal to the German legend
Messi had scored a goal in the very beginning of the match against Algeria. However, that goal was canceled due to offside in the build-up. After this, Messi took advantage of the empty space in Algeria’s defense in the 17th minute and opened Argentina’s account. He completed his hat-trick on a rebound in the 60th minute and then with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box in the 76th minute. With this he took his number of goals in the history of the tournament to 16 and equaled the all-time record of Germany’s Miroslav Klose.
Miroslav played 4 World Cups in his career and during this he scored 16 goals in 24 matches. Messi has reached his level in his 27th World Cup match. In terms of scoring the most goals in the FIFA World Cup, Messi left behind Brazilian Ronaldo (15), Germany’s Gerd Muller (14 goals) and Kylian Mbappe (14 goals). Let us tell you that some time ago, France’s star striker Mbappe had defeated Messi by scoring two goals against Senegal, but this Argentinian legend has now gone far ahead of him by scoring a hat-trick.
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Most goals in FIFA World Cup
- Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 16 goals
- Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 16 goals
- Ronaldo (Brazil) – 15 goals
- Gerd Muller (West Germany) – 14 goals
- Kylian Mbappé (France) – 14 goals
- Pelé (Brazil) – 12 goals
- Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) – 11 goals
- Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany) – 11 goals
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