Magical Messi Masterclass
A long-range screamer. A tap-in. A curled finish into the bottom corner. Lionel Messi just scored his first-ever World Cup hat-trick, tied an all-time scoring record, and became the first man in history to play in six World Cups. He's 38 years old
By World Soccer Wire Editorial
A long-range screamer. A tap-in. A curled finish into the bottom corner. By the time the final whistle blew in Kansas City, Lionel Messi had scored a hat-trick, tied an all-time scoring record, and became the first man in history to appear in six World Cups. He's 38 years old.
There's a version of this story where Lionel Messi shows up to his sixth World Cup, plays a solid, professional game, and Argentina grinds out a result against Algeria. Nobody would have blamed him for that. He's 38. He's already won everything there is to win. The hard part of his career — the part where he had to prove something — ended in Lusail back in 2022.
Instead, Messi spent Tuesday night in Kansas City making sure nobody forgets what he's still capable of.
The Numbers Are Almost Hard to Believe
Argentina beat Algeria 3-0, and Messi scored all three goals himself — his first-ever World Cup hat-trick, arriving on his 200th appearance for the national team. The goals came in the 17th, 60th, and 76th minutes: first a long-range strike that simply exploded into the net, then a close-range tap-in, then a curled, precise finish into the bottom corner to put the result beyond doubt. A fourth goal was waved off for offside.
The hat-trick brought his career World Cup tally to 16 goals, pulling him level with Miroslav Klose for the most goals scored in men's World Cup history. He also extended his combined goals-and-assists total at the tournament to 24, moving past Pelé's longstanding mark of 21 for the most World Cup goal contributions ever recorded.
And then there's the age angle, which on its own would have been the headline of the night in any other match: at 38 years old, Messi became the oldest player to score a brace in men's World Cup history, let alone a hat-trick. Father time has a way of catching up with even the greatest players in the world. On this particular Tuesday, he didn't show up.
A Record Nobody Else Will Touch Anytime Soon
By starting against Algeria, Messi also became the first man ever to appear in six separate World Cups — a record that, by the nature of how international tournaments work, very few players will ever have the opportunity to challenge. Cristiano Ronaldo is chasing the same milestone this summer for Portugal, and the possibility of the two of them meeting in a quarterfinal in Kansas City has been circled on calendars since the draw was made.
For now, though, the night belonged entirely to Messi. Argentina struck the post early, traded disallowed goals with Algeria in a frantic opening, and then let their captain take over. Algeria, to their credit, actually won the overall possession battle — but possession means very little when the man on the other end of the pitch is having one of the great individual nights in World Cup history.
What It Means for Argentina's Title Defense
Argentina are chasing something no team has managed since Brazil in 1962 — winning back-to-back World Cups. Group J also features Austria and Jordan, and on paper this was supposed to be the most straightforward of Argentina's three group games. Messi made sure of it personally.
The supporting cast matters here too. Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, and Alexis Mac Allister are exactly the kind of midfield engine a 38-year-old superstar needs around him to conserve energy for moments like this. Manager Lionel Scaloni has built this Argentina side to let Messi pick his spots — and on Tuesday, every spot he picked ended up in the back of the net.
The Bigger Picture
Elsewhere on the same day, Kylian Mbappé scored twice as France beat Senegal 3-1, and Erling Haaland struck twice for Norway in a 4-1 win over Iraq. Both were excellent individual performances by two of the best players alive. Messi, characteristically, did one better — turning in a night that didn't just win a football match, but quietly rewrote a chunk of the record book in the process.
He's 38 years old, four games away from a place in World Cup history that may never be matched, and he just reminded an entire planet why that's still true.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup runs June 11 through July 19 across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Follow all the action at WorldSoccerWire.com.