Defending champions Argentina kicked off their 2026 FIFA World Cup title defense in spectacular fashion, easing to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Algeria at the Kansas City Stadium. The Group J encounter belonged entirely to Argentine captain Lionel Messi, who produced a masterclass performance by netting his first-ever World Cup hat-trick on a night heavily loaded with historic milestones.
The match exploded into life early on with a chaotic sequence dictated by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Inside the first ten minutes, both teams had goals ruled out for razor-thin offsides—first denying Messi a trademark opener, and moments later, thwarting an unexpected breakthrough header from Algeria’s Farès Chaïbi.
Algeria’s structural resistance eventually crumbled in the 17th minute when Rodrigo De Paul picking out Messi outside the box. The maestro unleashed a ferocious, curling strike from distance after a quickly taken free-kick that left goalkeeper Luca Zidane completely stranded. Following the opener, Messi was visibly overcome with emotion and was seen in tears. In his post-match interview, he clarified the reaction: “Why did I cry? It was something completely unrelated to football. I went through some difficult days, but I’m grateful to my teammates because they were always by my side giving me strength.”
Argentina completely dictated the tempo from that moment on, with Enzo Fernández and Alexis Mac Allister running the midfield. In the 60th minute, Messi doubled the lead, reacting quickest to hammer home a loose rebound inside the area following an initial effort from Mac Allister. He completed his historic treble in the 76th minute, embarking on a vintage slaloming run before curling the ball gracefully into the bottom corner. To add to the magic, the masterclass occurred exactly 20 years to the day that a teenage Messi scored his very first World Cup goal against Serbia and Montenegro at Germany 2006.
