Messi scored a hat trick in Argentina's opening match at the 2026 World Cup
At the 2026 World Cup, the Argentine national team convincingly defeated Algeria on June 16 in a Group J match that kicked off the competition in the group. Lionel Messi scored a hat trick for Argentina, securing a lopsided victory for his team.
The reigning world champions took the initiative right away, but Messi’s first goal in the 5th minute was disallowed for offside. Three minutes later, the Algerians responded—but Farez Chaibi’s goal was also disallowed for the same reason.
A legitimate goal came closer to the middle of the first half: Rodrigo De Paul set up Messi with a pass for a one-on-one, and Messi fired a shot from outside the penalty area—Luc Zidane couldn’t stop it. The score became 1–0.
The teams started the second half cautiously, but Argentina gradually increased the pressure. After some confusion in the Algerian defense, Alexis Mac Allister fired a powerful shot down the middle—Zidane deflected the ball right in front of him, and Messi tapped it into the empty net. 2–0.
Algeria’s head coach Vladimir Petković brought on veteran Riyad Mahrez, but this did not significantly affect the course of the game. Argentina continued to dominate. Messi could have scored a hat trick earlier, but Zidane made a solid save. Meanwhile, a decent shot by Houssem Aouar went wide of Martinez’s goalpost.
With 15 minutes remaining in the match, following yet another wave of pressure from Argentina, Messi finally scored his hat trick—the first of his career in World Cup matches. The score remained 3–0 until the final whistle.
As a reminder, FIFA may change the protocol for the 2026 World Cup final for Trump’s sake.
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