Lionel Messi scored his first-ever hat-trick at a FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, firing Argentina to a 3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas City and drawing level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the tournament’s all-time top scorer on 16 goals.
The 38-year-old captain opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a long-range left-footed drive before doubling Argentina’s lead on the hour mark, tapping in after Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane failed to hold an Alexis Mac Allister effort.
Messi then completed the treble in the 76th minute, curling a clinical finish into the bottom corner from outside the box.
The performance came on his 200th appearance for Argentina and marked his record sixth FIFA World Cup, which he shares with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals had stood since the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
In reaching the landmark, Messi surpassed Brazil legend Ronaldo Nazario, who scored 15 World Cup goals across four tournaments.
Earlier on Tuesday, France’s Kylian Mbappe scored twice against his own opening group opponent to reach 14 World Cup goals, drawing level with West German icon Gerd Müller, only for Messi’s hat-trick to push the standings further down.
The feat also made Messi, who turned 38 in June, the oldest player in World Cup history to score a hat-trick, surpassing Ronaldo, who held the record after netting three times for Portugal against Spain at the 2018 tournament in Russia at the age of 33 years and 130 days.
Argentina, the reigning world champions, will next face Austria and Jordan in Group J as they pursue a third World Cup title and a first successful defence since Brazil in 1962.
