Argentina forward Lionel Messi scored a historic hattrick against Algeria on day six of the World Cup on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, leading his team to a 3-0 victory at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
The three goals elevated Messi to 15 career World Cup goals, tying him for second place on the all-time scoring list alongside Brazil's Ronaldo.
German striker Miroslav Klose remains the all-time leader with 16 goals.
By stepping onto the pitch against Algeria, Messi also achieved a new milestone as the first football player in history to participate in six different World Cup tournaments.
Match Highlights
Messi opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a strike past Algerian goalkeeper Zidane.
He added a second goal in the 62nd minute after converting a rebound from an Alexis Mac Allister long-range shot.
He completed his hattrick in the 75th minute before being substituted by head coach Lionel Scaloni to preserve his fitness for the remainder of the tournament.
The match also featured two early disallowed offside goals from both teams within the first ten minutes, including an attempt by Algeria's Chaïbi.
Feyenoord's Hadj Moussa started for Algeria over star player Riyad Mahrez.
Pitch Concerns
Following the match, concerns arose regarding the tournament's pitch conditions as players noted significantly damaged areas of grass across the Arrowhead Stadium turf.
Similar complaints emerged from East Rutherford, where French midfielder Adrien Rabiot criticized the surface conditions following France's 3-1 victory over Senegal.
"It felt more like an artificial surface, quite hard and stiff," said Rabiot.
French head coach Didier Deschamps agreed, stating, "I think there is probably concrete underneath; the fibers are very short.
The ball bounces in a different way."
Deschamps echoed previous complaints made by Brazil's Vinícius Júnior after the Morocco versus Brazil fixture.
Other World Cup News
Portugal head coach Roberto Martínez praised striker Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of their opening World Cup match against Congo, despite external doubts over the 41-year-old's starting position following poor warm-up performances.
"Within the team he is a crucial player. His numbers show how important he is in our attacking play.
Ronaldo is the finisher, but also the one who can create space for other players with his movements," said Martínez.
Martínez emphasized that the veteran forward, who is also entering his sixth career World Cup, remains fully committed to leading the national squad.
"It's his sixth World Cup, but I can say that internally it feels like his first World Cup in terms of intensity and emotional involvement and how important it is for him to be ready to lead the group," he added.
In other World Cup developments, Brazil's Neymar briefly returned to the training field but remains a doubt for the upcoming match against Haiti.
Erling Haaland scored twice to guide Norway to a 4-1 victory over Iraq in Boston.
