The began with a bang for Argentina and their leader .The defending champions crushed Algeria 3-0 to set the tone for what is to come in the rest of the tournament.
The African side was no match as the three-time winners took them to the cleaners. The destroyer-in-chief was none other than Messi who scored a hat-trick to start off his campaign in style.
Lionel Messi Wins Race to History
But the game saw the 38-year-old enter the history books and that too ahead of when the opening whistle was blown. Why so? Because Messi became the 1st player in the tournament’s history to appear in six editions of the FIFA World Cup. The jounrey began in 2006 and now in 2026, he does what no player has done before. Yes, Ronaldo will join him on that list in a matter of hours, but Messi got their first.
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A Very Special Club
The moment this match was added to Messi’s tally, it made him part of a special club. The game vs Algeria was Messi’s 200th. That made him only the third player in men’s football to play 200 games. Ronaldo leads the pack with 228 and Bader Al-Mutawa is in 2nd place with 202. Luka Modric with 198 is also set to join this list once he plays the first two games for Croatia.
Joint FIFA World Cup Record
But the major record that Messi now holds or rather shares is that of most World Cup goals. He had 13 to his name before this game and the hat-trick has made it 16. He currently shares the record with German great Miroslav Klose. The moment Messi scores one more time, he shall have the record all to himself. Messi already holds the record for most World Cup games played when he took part in the 2022 final.
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Lionel Messi’s Last Throw of the Dice?
Messi turns 39 in a week’s time, and this is expected to be his last World Cup. In fact, he may even retire from international football after the tournament. He led Argentina to the title in 2022 and lost in the final in 2014. In 2010, Messi did not score a single goal and had just one to his name in 2006. Can he sign off on a blaze of glory?
Who Will Be the Winner?
Argentina have started well and it is important to maintain this momentum. The group stage shall end on June 27 after all 72 games have been played. After that the teams will be trimmed to 32 and eventually down to the final two who shall face off on July 19. It remains to be seen if we have a new champion or an old one.