Messi ties men's World Cup goals record with first World Cup hat trick

Kansas City, Mo. — Lionel Messi used the front of his white-and-blue, sweat-soaked jersey to wipe the tears from his eyes, a flood of emotions cracking his usually calm, confident demeanor after he gave Argentina an early lead in its 2026 Men's World Cup opener against Algeria. Then he scored again. And again. Suddenly, any questions about Messi's hamstring injury, or whether he could help Argentina become the third team to win consecutive World Cups - even as his 39th birthday approaches next week - had been answered. With a brilliant hat trick in a 3-0 win over Les Fennecs, Messi moved into a tie with Germany's Miroslav Klose for the career scoring record at the Men's World Cup. Lionel Messi. right, celebrates the third goal in his first World Cup hat trick with Argentina teammate Rodrigo De Paul in Kansas City Stadium on June 16, 2026. Tom Weller / picture alliance via Getty Images "My tears after the first goal? I've had some tough days. It wasn't related to football. And those feelings were because of that," Messi said afterward, without elaborating. "I thank my teammates, the coaching staff and the delegation for helping me." Messi scored that emotional first goal in the opening minutes on a nifty feed from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, the second off an opportunistic rebound early in the second half, and the third on a crisp strike moments before subbing out to a standing ovation from a crowd of 69,045 tilted heavily toward the three-time World Cup champions. …