MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

With a historic Messi, Argentina begin their title defense by thrashing Algeria

With his three goals, Messi reached 16 in World Cups, tying Germany's Miroslav Klose as the competition's all-time top scorer

Argentina began their defense of the World Cup title won in Qatar 2022 on Tuesday with a 3-0 thrashing of Algeria, in the Group J opener of the 2026 World Cup, played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Captain Lionel Messi guided Lionel Scaloni's side with a hat-trick that left him atop the tournament's all-time scoring history.

With his three goals, Messi reached 16 in World Cups, tying Germany's Miroslav Klose as the competition's all-time top scorer. It was also his first hat-trick in World Cups, in his 200th appearance for the national team, and he became the first footballer to play in six editions of the tournament. At almost 39, the forward also surpassed Pelé as the all-time leader in goal contributions at the tournament.

The first goal came in the 17th minute: Messi received the ball between the lines, drove toward the box and finished with a curling left-footed shot into the corner past Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane. In the second half he extended the lead in the 60th, capturing a rebound after a shot from Alexis Mac Allister, and sealed his performance in the 76th, with a finish into the far post. With the second goal he had drawn level with Brazil's Ronaldo, and with the third he passed him to tie Klose.

Argentina controlled the match without trouble, beyond a scare in the first half: an Algeria goal was annulled by VAR, the technology that also disallowed a Messi goal before his opener. Scaloni's side kept the world-champion core —most of the players who featured in the opener had been part of the 2022 triumph— and quickly dispelled doubts over their fitness. La Albiceleste, which beat France in the Qatar final three and a half years ago, again shapes up as one of the title candidates. On the same day, France's Kylian Mbappé scored a brace and reached 14 World Cup goals, behind the Argentine.

The 2026 World Cup is being held for the first time across three host nations —the United States, Mexico and Canada— and with 48 teams. Argentina will continue their Group J campaign against Austria on June 22 and Jordan on the 27th, two fixtures in which Messi will have the chance to stand alone as the all-time top scorer in World Cup history.