Messi Scores First World Cup Hat-Trick as Argentina Defeats Algeria 3-0

Key news from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

(Central News Agency, Kansas City, June 16) — Argentina defeated Algeria 3-0 today. Lionel Messi, the 39-year-old Argentine superstar, scored his first career World Cup hat-trick, netting his 16th World Cup goal and tying the all-time record held by German legend Miroslav Klose.

According to Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press, the historic Argentine veteran, competing in his sixth World Cup, opened the scoring with a long-range strike in the first half, then added a close-range finish early in the second half.

In the 76th minute, Messi completed his hat-trick, sending waves of euphoria through the Argentine fans packed into Kansas City’s stadium.

A 'hat-trick' originally referred to a cricket term where a bowler dismisses three batters consecutively, but is now widely used in football to describe a single player scoring three or more goals in one match.

Messi has now scored 16 goals across six World Cup appearances. Experts widely believe Klose’s record will be broken within the coming weeks. This marks Messi’s 61st career hat-trick and his 11th for the national team.

The match against Algeria also marked Messi’s 200th international appearance. He made his national team debut in 2005 at just 18 years old.

Currently, only two players in football history have more international caps than Messi: Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who is set to play his 229th match tomorrow, and Kuwait’s Bader al-Mutawa, who earned 202 caps.

(Compiled by Chen Yu-Ting) 1150617

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