Argentina defeats Algeria to begin FIFA World Cup defence in style
The Argentina vs Algeria clash gave fans plenty to celebrate as the reigning champions began their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with an impressive victory.
Lionel Messi was the star of the night, scoring all three goals and helping Argentina make a strong statement in their quest to retain the title.
The Lionel Messi hat-trick was his first ever in a World Cup match and came during his 200th appearance for Argentina. The 38-year-old also became the joint-highest scorer in World Cup history with 16 goals, equaling the long-standing record held by Germany’s Miroslav Klose.
In the Argentina vs Algeria encounter, Messi opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a brilliant curling effort.
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He doubled Argentina’s lead after capitalizing on a goalkeeping mistake and completed his memorable Lionel Messi hat-trick in the second half with a powerful strike from outside the box.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 match was not as easy as the scoreline suggests. Algeria showed determination and created chances of their own, but Argentina’s experience and Messi’s brilliance proved too much to handle.
This Argentina vs Algeria victory was particularly important because Argentina had lost the opening match in both of their previous World Cup title defenses in 1982 and 1990. This time, they started on the right foot.
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The Lionel Messi hat-trick also made him the oldest player ever to score a World Cup hat-trick. His performance showed that age has not slowed him down, even as he approaches his 39th birthday.
With this FIFA World Cup 2026 win, Argentina now look ahead to matches against Austria and Jordan, while Messi has a chance to become the outright highest scorer in World Cup history.
