Argentina captain Lionel Messi matched Miroslav Klose as the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history after scoring a hat-trick against Algeria on Tuesday night.
The 3-0 group-stage victory pushed Argentina to the brink of the knockout round.
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Messi's three clinically-taken goals came exactly 20 years after his first World Cup goal for Argentina against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006.
With this performance, he became the oldest World Cup goalscorer for Argentina, surpassing Martin Palermo's previous record by over two years.
Opponent's Praise
Algeria and Bayern Munich midfielder Ibrahim Maza reflected on Messi's performance after witnessing the masterclass on the pitch.
"Messi things," Maza said. "I don't think I need to explain to you.
I think you just have to watch the game and then you'll know what I mean."
"He can decide the game on his own, as we saw today," Maza added.
Following the match, Messi received the Michelob Ultra "Superior Player of the Match" trophy.
The competitive forward minimized his individual milestone when speaking to reporters.
"Honestly the record doesn't matter," Messi said. "It's an honor to be there, for what it means to be next to Klose.
Ronaldo is also there. Mbappé too, he scored twice today.
At the end of the day it's just a statistic and nothing more."
Teammates' Insights
Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, who assisted Messi's opening goal, shared insight regarding the captain's attitude toward personal statistics.
