(Reuters) – Lionel Messi became the first player to feature in six World Cups and marked the occasion with a hat trick to tie the all-time World Cup goals record as Argentina opened Group J play with a 3-0 win over Algeria on a historic Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri.
Messi’s third goal in the 76th minute, a left-footed strike from the top of the box, gave him 16 World Cup goals and brought him level with German icon Miroslav Klose.
The feat came after Kylian Mbappe scored a brace earlier Tuesday in France’s opening match against Senegal to climb to 14 World Cup goals in his young career, surpassing Messi’s total only for a few hours.
Rather than attempt to break Klose’s record on Tuesday, Messi, who turns 39 next week, subbed out in the 80th minute to a resounding ovation at the home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.
Argentina picked up right where they left off in the 2022 World Cup final, when Messi scored a brace and converted a penalty kick on the way to defeating France for the trophy.
Algeria finished the night with a slight edge in total possession but failed to put a shot on target. Luca Zidane, son of French legend Zinedine Zidane, made three saves for Algeria.
The obvious difference in the match was Messi, who nearly got on the scoresheet in the fifth minute when he chipped the ball past Zidane but was a shoulder offside. A few minutes later, Fares Chaibi appeared to hand Algeria a stunning lead when he kept his shot low to the ground and tucked it inside the near post, but he too was ruled offside.
The first goal that counted came in the 17th minute. Messi’s Inter Miami teammate, Rodrigo De Paul, snuck a long feed through four Algerian players to find the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner in space.
Messi ran to the top of the penalty arc before firing his shot to the upper right corner, an attempt that Zidane could only graze. Messi joined Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal as the only players to score in five editions of the World Cup.
Just before halftime, Anis Hadj Moussa gave Algeria hope when he made a few nifty moves into the box and fired on goal. The ball hit the foot of a teammate in the center of the box but settled harmlessly for Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to collect.
Messi converted again in the 60th minute after Alexis Mac Allister tried a long shot from far outside the box that Zidane dove to stop. Messi was ready to pounce on the rebound and tapped it into the right corner as Zidane lunged the wrong way.
