Argentina 3-0 Algeria
Argentina opened their World Cup 2026 campaign with aplomb, as Lionel Messi’s hat-trick secured a 3-0 win against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday to commence Group J action.
The Inter Miami talisman, the driving force behind La Albiceleste’s triumph in 2022, opened the scoring early in the first half before scoring two more in the second half. After completing his hat-trick, Messi, who will turn 39 next week, received a deserved standing ovation from the crowd, including NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
With the victory, Argentina momentarily seized the top spot in Group J, while the Austria-Jordan game is still ongoing as of this writing. The World Cup 2026 odds have Lionel Scaloni’s men finishing at the top ahead of the knockouts anyway, and anything less than that is considered a shock.
Let’s recap the World Cup 2026 highlights Messi created in this match here at SBOTOP.
Highlights of the game
Lionel Messi first found the back of the net in the fifth minute after a clever through ball from Lautaro Martinez, but the VAR disallowed the goal for a marginal offside. A few minutes later, Fares Chaibi suffered the same fate at the other end as Algeria, with Riyad Mahrez starting the match on the bench, showed what they could offer in the final third.
But from then on, Messi took over. He launched a superb opener in the 17th minute when he was inexplicably wide open from the edge of the box after latching onto Rodrigo De Paul’s pass. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner played poacher for his second goal, as he tapped the ball home after Luca Zidane, son of Zinedine, spilled over Alexis Mac Allister’s attempt at the hour mark.
Messi’s magical night was capped off in style during the 76th minute, as he exchanged passes with Nico Gonzalez before firing a wonderful curler into the bottom-left corner. Three minutes later, the Inter Miami star was cheered upon leaving the pitch.
Key statistics
Becoming the joint-top scorer in World Cup history is not the only feat Lionel Messi managed earlier today. The 38-year-old has also reached 200 caps for Argentina and became the first player in history to compete at six World Cups, as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal have yet to see action. Messi had a team-leading six shots against Algeria, surpassing the five efforts he had in the 2022 final.
At 38 days and 357 days, Messi is the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick, overtaking the record set by Cristiano Ronaldo, who was 33 when he scored three goals against Spain back in 2018. Messi has 11 hat-tricks for his nation and 61st overall.
According to Opta data, Messi (six) has now scored more goals from outside the penalty area than any other player since 1966, one more than Brazil’s Rivellino. Meanwhile, the closest active player behind him in the all-time scoring list is Kylian Mbappe (14), who just had a brace in France’s 3-1 victory over Senegal.
Argentina wouldn’t score the shutout victory without their superb defence, led by the centre-half duo of Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez. They were so good that goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez didn’t have to do much all day.
Martinez produced huge defensive contributions, including three clearances, one interception, and three recoveries, and was not dribbled past at all. The Manchester United defender also won two of his ground duels and completed three passes into the final third. Romero had two clearances, one block, and two recoveries. The Tottenham defender won three of his six ground duels and one aerial duel and drew one foul.
Algeria (53-per cent) slightly had more possession than Argentina (47-per cent), but the Fennecs had zero shots on target compared to six for La Albiceleste.
What’s next?
After beating Algeria, Argentina can lock up the top spot in Group I with a victory against Austria next Monday at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. In the meantime, La Albiceleste will be watching the ongoing game between Austria and Jordan, low-key hoping it will be a draw.
As for Algeria, they can make amends with a winnable game against Jordan at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, a few hours after the Argentina-Austria match. Should they win, Vladimir Petkovic’s men will still be in the running for a berth in the knockouts. The final matchday of Group I is on June 27, when Algeria and Austria square off at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City before Jordan and Argentina clash at the AT&T Stadium.
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