Hours after Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland had each scored twice on a day packed with football's biggest names, the stage was set for the main show. The Messi show.
Lionel Messi scored his first World Cup hat-trick as Argentina beat Algeria 3-0, equalling Miroslav Klose's all-time scoring record of 16 goals and becoming the first man in history to feature at six World Cups – beating rival Cristiano Ronaldo by a day.
“Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to equal the World Cup scoring record as Argentina beat Algeria 3-0.”
Twenty years to the day after his World Cup debut as an 18-year-old at Germany 2006, the 38-year-old delivered another spectacular performance on his 200th appearance for his country. As the sun dipped behind the Kansas City skyline, Messi curled a superb effort into the top-right corner in the 18th minute after an early offside flag had denied him a fairytale start four minutes in.
There was a moment of concern when Messi's studs caught the top of Algeria's Aissa Mandi's heel just past the half-hour mark, but no action was taken, and the Argentine took full advantage.
After the match, an emotional Messi said: 'To enjoy this with my family, with my team-mates, the ones who are always there, is a really beautiful moment. The squad, it's a very united, very strong group. I feel good; we were lucky enough to win a tough match. It's important to start off with a win in the first game. I'm grateful to the fans, because once again they've shown that Argentina is crazy about this – we packed the stadium again. Everything I'm experiencing now is a bonus. I've been fortunate enough to achieve all my dreams — or even more than I ever dreamed of achieving — both professionally and personally.'
Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni added: 'I don't have the words to describe Messi. For 20 years, he's had us used to seeing things like this and he inspires everyone who watches him play.'