Lionel Messi achieved a hat-trick against Algeria during his 200th match with Argentina, matching Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals and becom…
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1/10Messi Matches Klose: Lionel Messi netted his inaugural World Cup hat-trick on Tuesday, equaling Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 all-time tournament goals, as Argentina triumphed over Algeria 3-0 in Kansas City. The goals — his 118th, 119th, and 120th for Argentina — were scored during Messi’s 200th international match and at his record sixth World Cup. He was substituted in the 78th minute, receiving applause from a crowd of 69,045, just shy of claiming the record himself.
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2/10Two Decades Later: The game coincided exactly with the 20th anniversary of Messi’s World Cup debut against Serbia and Montenegro on June 16, 2006 — where he also scored — making him Argentina’s youngest World Cup scorer at just 18. At 38, he has now become the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the World Cup, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo, who previously held the record at 33 years and 130 days with a hat-trick against Spain in 2018. Messi is one of only three players to achieve 200 international caps, alongside Ronaldo and Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa.
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3/10Six Tournaments, One Record: Messi set the record as the first man to participate in six World Cup tournaments, a benchmark Ronaldo could match if he plays for Portugal against DR Congo on Wednesday. Both Messi and Ronaldo are also the only players to score in five different World Cups. The hat-trick on Tuesday further extended Messi’s record as the first player to score in five consecutive World Cup matches, with the Algeria game marking only his first in the 2026 tournament.
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4/10Mbappe Moves Ahead, Then Falters: Earlier on the same day, France’s Kylian Mbappé netted two goals against Senegal in a 3-1 victory, reaching 14 World Cup goals and surpassing Messi’s previous tally of 13, moving into third place alongside Germany’s Gerd Müller. However, Messi’s subsequent hat-trick propelled him to 16 goals, surpassing Mbappé and Brazil’s Ronaldo (15) to level up with Klose at the pinnacle of the all-time scoring list. Both Messi and Mbappé are now close to breaking the outright record.
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5/10Goals That Counted: In the fourth minute, Messi had a goal disallowed for offside, as did Algeria’s Farès Chaïbi. He found the net for real in the 17th minute, executing a left-footed curled shot from outside the penalty area past goalkeeper Luca Zidane — son of renowned French footballer Zinedine Zidane — after a pass from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul. Algeria attempted to respond before halftime, forcing goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez to parry a shot from Chaïbi, but Argentina held the lead.
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6/10Second and Third Goals: Messi converted his second goal in the 60th minute, scoring on a rebound after Zidane was unable to hold onto an Alexis Mac Allister shot. He completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute with a curling left-footed shot assisted by substitute Nico Gonzalez. This third goal equaled him with Klose’s record of 16 goals, marking the 61st hat-trick of his career, his 11th for Argentina, and the first of the 2026 World Cup — the tournament had seen only braces before this.
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7/10Record-Setting Performance: On Tuesday, Messi set multiple personal records in one match. He became the oldest Argentine to score in the World Cup, two decades after first making his mark as the youngest. Moreover, he became the initial player to net goals in five consecutive World Cups. Surpassing Pelé’s record of 21 World Cup contributions, he now holds 24, according to ESPN. Additionally, he made history as the first man to participate in six World Cups. Coach Lionel Scaloni, who was a substitute in the same 2006 match where Messi debuted, stated: “Words can’t encapsulate Messi. For 20 years, he’s conditioned us to witness such spectacles.”
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8/10Messi Reflects: “My tears after the first goal? I’ve faced tough times recently. It wasn’t just about football. Those emotions stemmed from that,” Messi shared post-match without going into details. He emphasized how challenging it is to begin a World Cup with a win in the opening match, crediting his teammates and coaching staff. Messi had previously been managing a minor hamstring issue at Inter Miami before the tournament but played for 20 minutes against Iceland last week and scored from the penalty spot.
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9/10What Lies Ahead for Argentina: Argentina will face Austria on Monday in Dallas, concluding their Group J journey against Jordan on June 27. If they advance to win the title, Argentina would join Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962) as the third team in history to win consecutive World Cups. Should Messi lead them to that championship, he would be the first Argentine captain to achieve such a feat — a milestone that Diego Maradona fell short of in 1990.
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10/10Klose’s Record Awaits: Messi stands just one goal shy of breaking Klose’s record outright, set by the German striker across four World Cups from 2002 to 2014. With Argentina’s next match five days away and a minimum of two further group games to play, the record seems near, barring injury. Algeria’s coach Vladimir Petkovic encapsulated the evening aptly: “Class is permanent. He is fortunate to have a team in Argentina that works for him, and he has accomplished incredible feats for decades.”
