Messi hat-trick powers Argentina past Algeria in World Cup opener

Lionel Messi turned Algeria’s smallest mistake into a match-defining sequence, scoring from the rebound of Alexis Mac Allister’s drive before finishing the night with a hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win at Kansas City Stadium. For the defending champions, it was a sharp reminder of how elite teams can strip away margins: one spill from Zidane, one step from Messi, and the game tilted further out of reach.

Argentina and Algeria met in a World Cup for the first time, and the stakes fit the tone. Algeria entered the opener with the chance to spring an upset, but Lionel Scaloni’s side arrived with the core that has carried Argentina through recent major tournaments, including Messi, Julián Álvarez and Mac Allister. The result was less about spectacle than control, with Argentina repeatedly turning half-chances into pressure and pressure into goals.

The second Argentina goal summed that up. Mac Allister hit a powerful shot from distance, Zidane could not hold it, and Messi was already in the right place to punish the rebound with a calm finish off his right foot. The sequence was clinical rather than flamboyant, but it exposed the kind of alertness that can decide knockout football: when the first save fails, Messi’s positioning makes the second action fatal.

Messi later completed his hat-trick with a trademark curling finish from the edge of the area, sealing both the scoreline and his 200th senior international appearance. At 38, he did not need volume to influence the game. He needed timing, and Argentina needed only brief openings to make the point that came through clearly in Kansas City: even against organized opposition, the reigning world champions remain capable of turning one error into complete control.