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Lionel Messi opened his FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a brilliant hat-trick, leading Argentina to a 3-0 win over Algeria on Tuesday. With the hat-trick, he registered his name in the record books for multiple accolades, the most notable being for joint-most goals in World Cup history.
Lionel Messi is now tied with Germany's Miroslav Klose on 16 goals in FIFA World Cup history. He has also moved past Brazil's Ronaldo (15 goals), as well as Germany's Gerd Muller and France's Kylian Mbappe, who were both on 14 goals. Notably, Mbappe had earlier equalled Muller's tally with a brace in France's 3-1 win over Senegal earlier in the day. France's Just Fontaine (13) and Brazilian great, Pele (12) follow next on the list. Messi marked his 200th appearance for Argentina with a standout performance, scoring three different types of goals. Messi's first came from a powerful long-range strike in the 17th minute after a quick free-kick from Argentina's De Paul. His second was a close-range finish after a rebound fell kindly in the box following an effort from Mac Allister. He completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute with a composed curling finish after initiating the move himself with a mazy run. Notably, the hat-trick also came exactly 20 years after Messi's first World Cup goal in 2006, which came in Argentina's 6-0 win over Serbia in the 2006 World Cup, adding a historic milestone to his landmark performance. The appearance against Algeria also marked his 200th international match for Argentina, becoming the first footballer to feature in six editions of the men's FIFA World Cup. He surpassed a group of players--Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, Antonio Carbajal, Andres Guardado, Rafael Marquez (all Mexico), and Germany's Lothar Matthaus--who had previously been tied with him in World Cup participation records. Messi has scored 10 World Cup goals since turning 35, which is more than the total World Cup goal tallies of Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Diego Maradona, Rivaldo, Neymar, and Harry Kane across their entire careers.(ANI)
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