Lionel Messi delivered a hat trick on Tuesday, powering Argentina to a 3-0 victory over Algeria in their 2026 World Cup opener at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The performance moved the Argentina captain level with Miroslav Klose as the tournament's all-time leading scorer.

Messi scored all three goals in the dominant win, opening his account with a rocket and later cleaning up a rebound. The hat trick was his first at a World Cup and gives him eight goals across his last five appearances in the tournament. The display drew praise from Patrick Mahomes, who summed it up with a single emoji, and from former rival Thomas Muller, who was left speechless.

With the victory, the defending champions launch their bid for back-to-back titles with maximum points in Group A. Argentina defeated France in an epic 2022 final, and this opening statement signals they remain the team to beat. The result puts early pressure on the rest of the group ahead of matchday two.

Messi and Argentina will look to build on this momentum when they face their next group-stage opponent. The road to a repeat runs through their remaining group fixtures, where the captain will have the chance to claim the all-time record outright.

Skip Bayless declared Messi “even bigger than Taylor Swift” after the historic performance, while messages of admiration poured in from across the sports world.