Messi dazzles to equal World Cup scoring record as Argentina breeze past Algeria

Those in attendance at Argentina’s opening match against Algeria could be forgiven, for a moment, for thinking they were at one of the great Argentinian cathedrals of football – La Bombonera , or maybe the national stadium, El Monumental . Kansas City Stadium, awash in the colors of the Albiceleste, roared with the sound of nearly 70,000 Argentine supporters serenading their team, and their hero, in rapturous song on Tuesday night. They had plenty to sing about. Argentina rose to the occasion, and so did Lionel Messi , who in his 200th cap took another step towards solidifying his place as the greatest footballer in the history of the sport, scoring three splendid goals and tying Germany’s Miroslav Klose for the all-time goal scoring mark in World Cup play (16), the performance coming just hours after France’s Kylian Mbappé leapfrogged him, with 14. The Inter Miami midfielder also became the first player to appear at six World Cups, a record that feels certain to be equalled by Cristiano Ronaldo when Portugal begins play. Messi had been recovering from a muscle injury in recent weeks but any doubt surrounding the Argentine captain’s status was quickly wiped away when he was named to Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni’s starting XI, and those doubts were ancient history shortly the match itself began. Messi had very nearly nabbed Argentina’s opener just five minutes in when a through ball found him at the near side of the box. …