Defending champions Argentina have kicked off their FIFA World Cup campaign in style. Captain Lionel Messi scored a brilliant hat-trick to give his team a 3-0 victory over Algeria.
Kansas City: Defending champions Argentina have made a dream start to their World Cup campaign. In a thrilling match at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, captain Lionel Messi scored a fantastic hat-trick to lead Argentina to a 3-0 win over Algeria. Messi found the net in the 17th, 60th, and 76th minutes. This was also the first World Cup hat-trick of his career.
Kansas City witnessed another golden chapter in Messi’s legendary career. The 38-year-old superstar set a new record just by stepping onto the field, becoming the first men’s player in history to play in six different World Cups.
A Start Full of VAR and Offside Drama
Both teams came out attacking right from the first whistle. In the 6th minute, Lionel Messi put the ball in the Algerian net, but a VAR check ruled it offside. Just three minutes later, Algeria’s Fares Chaibi scored on a counter-attack, but the referee disallowed that goal for offside too, adding to the early drama.
The Messi Show Begins; First Goal
The stadium erupted in the 17th minute when the first goal finally came. Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul played a beautiful through-pass to Messi, who easily dodged the Algerian defence and raced into the box. His clinical, curving shot flew past Algerian goalkeeper Luka Zidane and into the top right corner of the net. With this goal, Messi now holds the rare record of being both the youngest and the oldest player to score for Argentina in a World Cup.
Messi Dominates the Second Half Too
Argentina, leading by one goal, doubled their lead early in the second half. Messi took advantage of a mistake by the Algerian defence to score his second goal and put the match firmly in Argentina’s control (2-0). Soon after, he completed his hat-trick with a grounder from outside the box. This goal brought his total World Cup tally to 16, equalling Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s all-time record. Messi also set another record for being the oldest player to score a hat-trick in World Cup history.
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Algeria put up a tough fight, but they were no match for Messi’s brilliance and some great saves from goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. It wasn’t just about attack; Messi and his team were solid in defence as well.
Thiago Almada and Rodrigo De Paul controlled the midfield, and all of Algeria’s attempts to score were shut down by the Argentine defence. Interestingly, despite having more ball possession (53%) and making more passes (583), Algeria couldn’t find a way to score.
In another interesting fact, the referee didn’t have to show a single card throughout the match. With this win, Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina has taken a confident first step towards becoming only the third country after Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962) to win back-to-back World Cup titles.