There were serious people who questioned whether Lionel Messi, at 38, could still do it on the biggest stage. On Monday evening in Kansas City, he answered every single one of them. Three goals, one of the most complete individual World Cup performances in recent memory, and Argentina's title defence is up and running. The defending champions beat Algeria 3-0 in what was never as tight as the score suggests in the opening stages, and by the final whistle there was no question about who the night belonged to.
Algeria arrived in Kansas City as the most ambitious African qualifier in this expanded 48-team field, a side with genuine quality in midfield and an organised defensive structure that had caused problems throughout their qualifying campaign. For the first twenty minutes they were competitive. But the moment Argentina's pressure began to tell and Messi started pulling the strings in the half-spaces, it became clear that Algeria's best hope had already passed. The game shifted, and it shifted on the back of something that only one player in the world can still do at the age of 38.
Three Goals, Zero Doubts — Messi Answers His Critics
Messi's first came from the kind of run that defenders simply cannot track — a darting movement inside the box, a first-time finish that went in off the post. His second was a free kick. His third, in the closing stages, was the confirmation: the captain of the defending champions, in his final World Cup, opening with a hat-trick. It is the sort of story that football occasionally delivers as if to remind you that sometimes reality is stranger and better than anything you could have written. He now holds the men's record for international goals, and he is adding to it here.
Argentina's Title Ambitions Look Intact
Beyond Messi, Argentina looked sharp and purposeful. Lautaro Martinez pressed intelligently all night, Rodrigo De Paul controlled the tempo, and the defensive shape remained compact even while pushing men forward. Scaloni has built a side that doesn't rely entirely on Messi the way previous Argentina squads have — but when Messi decides to take over a game, this team still knows how to let him. Group J now looks like a formality; the real test comes in the knockout rounds. If Argentina are playing at this level come July, they will take some stopping.
Match facts: Argentina 3–0 Algeria | 2026 FIFA World Cup Group J | Kansas City | June 16, 2026 | Goals: Lionel Messi 3 (hat-trick) | Argentina top Group J with maximum points
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