Twenty years ago to the day, a 19-year-old Lionel Messi made his World Cup debut for Argentina in a 6-0 win over Serbia and Montenegro in Germany. On Tuesday night in Kansas City, two decades later and three weeks before his 39th birthday, Messi turned up again and did it all over again. A hat-trick. His first ever at a World Cup. Goals in the 17th, 60th, and 76th minutes. Argentina 3-0 Algeria. The tournament record of 16 World Cup goals, held for years by Germany’s Miroslav Klose, equalled in one evening.
The numbers are almost secondary to the feeling in the stadium. Messi broke down in tears after his first goal, and again at the final whistle. He was open about why afterward. He had been through a few difficult days before the match, something personal and unrelated to football, and the support of his teammates and the Argentina delegation had carried him through. Those who wondered whether a 38-year-old who spent most of his club season managing a hamstring injury could show up at a World Cup and perform at this level got their answer before the hour mark.
His first goal came from distance with his left foot, unstoppable and unanswerable. The second was composed and clinical on the hour. The third, with 14 minutes remaining, was the one that settled the matter entirely: collecting a pass from Nicolas Gonzalez on the edge of the box and driving a low shot into the corner of Luca Zidane’s goal. The Algeria goalkeeper, son of the great Zinedine, had actually denied Messi in a one-on-one earlier in the second half and been involved in a penalty appeal that referee Szymon Marciniak waved away. He also had a goal ruled out for offside in between. The story of the evening was never really in doubt, but it had enough texture to keep the tension alive longer than the scoreline suggests.
Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic was gracious in defeat. He called Messi a player who has been doing incredible things for decades and acknowledged that having him in the opposition simply makes all the difference. Riyad Mahrez, who came off the bench in the second half searching for a goal that never came, said the same thing more simply. They have Messi. That makes all the difference.
Scaloni withdrew his captain with ten minutes remaining and the two embraced on the touchline in a moment that said everything without needing any words. The coach said afterward that he loves him very much, and that Messi will always be the greatest of all time. Alexis Mac Allister, who provided the defence-splitting pass for the opening goal, said the team needs to be built around him so he feels comfortable. Enzo Fernandez added that it was as if time never catches up with him.
What makes this performance remarkable beyond the statistics is the context. This may be Messi’s final World Cup. He turns 39 later this month. He came into the tournament managing a hamstring issue. His club season at Inter Miami had been interrupted. And yet, on the night Argentina needed him most to stamp their defending champion authority on Group J, he produced one of the most complete individual performances of his career at the age of 38.
Moments like this are exactly why live football is incomparable to any recording or highlight package. You don’t watch Kansas City on Tuesday and feel what the stadium felt by reading a report. A reliable IPTV subscription carrying broadcaster feeds from across the world gives you every remaining Messi appearance at World Cup 2026 live as the record attempt unfolds.
Argentina’s next group games against Austria and Jordan give Messi two more chances to break Klose’s record outright. On Tuesday’s evidence, he won’t need long.