Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to begin Argentina's defence of their World Cup while Kylian Mbappe helped get France off to a winning start against Senegal and Erling Haaland scored twice for Norway

What a crazy World Cup night that was?! As if it were nothing, Lionel Messi, at 38 years old, simply scored a hat-trick against Algeria, drawing level with Miroslav Klose. The Argentine now also stands at 16 tournament goals.

Lionel Messi and Argentina are back to defend their crown and showed it in style, as Messi tied the World Cup's all-time goals record with a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria in both nations' 2026 World Cup openers in the Heartland of America on Tuesday.

Live updates from the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday. Get the latest news, results, standings and highlights from the 48-team, 39-day tournament.

The Spanish midfielder highlighted the influence of Argentina’s No. 10 and his level of play despite the passage of time.

Sunil Chhetri, part of the ZEE5 FIFA World Cup 2026 expert panel, praised top performers at the tournament, highlighting standout displays by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He noted memorable moments like Messi’s hat-trick,