Defending champions Argentina national football team started their FIFA World Cup campaign with a convincing win over Algeria, inspired by a brilliant hat-trick from captain Lionel Messi.
Playing at Kansas City Stadium, Argentina took control early in the match, with Messi opening the scoring in the 17th minute.
The Argentine captain added a second goal after capitalizing on an error by the Algerian goalkeeper before completing his first-ever World Cup hat-trick with a powerful strike in the 76th minute.
The three goals took Messi’s World Cup tally to 16, drawing level with Miroslav Klose as the joint-highest scorer in FIFA World Cup history.
The 38-year-old also achieved another historic milestone by becoming the first footballer to appear in six different World Cup editions.
Argentina will now turn its attention to upcoming group-stage matches against Austria and Jordan as it continues its title defence.
