Lionel Messi Scores First World Cup Hat Trick in Argentina’s 3-0 Win Over Algeria
Lionel Messi scored the first World Cup hat trick of his career on June 16, 2026, leading defending champions Argentina to a 3-0 win over Algeria at Kansas City Stadium. The three goals lifted him level with Miroslav Klose as the all-time leading scorer in men’s World Cup history with 16 goals.
It was the first time in six tournaments that Messi had scored three times in a single World Cup match. He did it at 38, days before his 39th birthday, and his opening goal landed exactly 20 years to the day after his 2006 World Cup debut. The game was also his 200th appearance for Argentina, the most of any player in the country’s history.
Messi broke the deadlock in the 17th minute, turning into space off a Rodrigo De Paul through ball and beating goalkeeper Luca Zidane. He added his second from close range in the second half, then completed the hat trick in the 76th minute with a clinical finish from the edge of the box. Coach Lionel Scaloni took him off soon after for Nico Paz, and the Kansas City crowd rose to applaud him.
The treble carried Messi past several markers at once. The match was his 27th at the World Cup, more than any player ever, in his record sixth tournament alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. He also became just the second player to score at five different World Cups, after Ronaldo first managed it in 2022. The 16 goals leave him one short of breaking Klose’s record outright, a mark he could claim in Argentina’s next match.
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The hat trick also returned Messi to the top of the active scoring charts. Hours earlier, France’s Kylian Mbappe scored twice against Senegal to reach 14 World Cup goals, only for Messi to move clear again with his three.
The win gives Argentina a commanding start in Group J as they chase back-to-back titles, something no nation has done since Brazil in 1962. They face Austria next before closing the group against Jordan.
