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.

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.

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.

Lionel Messi is now the leading goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history, as he scores to get the lead for Argentina., Football News, Times Now

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,

A star-studded line-up at the World Cup overnight produced the goods as Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland kept pace with Lionel Messi. Messi had earlier in the day scored twice as Argentina beat Austria 2-0;