Argentina opened its 2026 World Cup campaign with a convincing 3-0 victory over Algeria, inspired by a sensational hat-trick from Lionel Messi.

Messi opened the scoring in the 17th minute, added a second goal after converting a rebound in the second half, and completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute.

With the three goals, Messi matched the all-time World Cup scoring record with 16 career goals.

Several goals were ruled out for offside during the match before Argentina secured a comfortable victory through a composed second-half display.