Watch: Lionel Messi ties World Cup goals record with hat trick vs. Algeria
June 17 (UPI) --Lionel Messi's tears of gratitude after his first goal in Argentina's group stage opener were a sign of things to come, as he went on to score twice more against Algeria to tie Miroslav Klose's record for the most goals in World Cup history.
Messi, who also became the first player to compete in six World Cups, found the net in the 17th, 60th and 76th minutes of the 3-0 triumph Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo. He entered the match tied with Just Fontaine for the fifth-most goals in World Cup history.
With his hat trick, he passed Kylian Mbappe, Gerd Muller and Ronaldo on the tournament's all-time scoring list. Mbappe, who scored twice in France's 3-1 win over Senegal on Thursday in East Rutherford, N.J., is tied for fourth with 14 goals.
"It's an honor to compete with them, but it doesn't mean anything," Messi told reporters. "For me, Ronaldo, who I watched and is one of the greats, is not at the top.
"So, it's just stats."
Messi appeared to first find the net in the fifth minute, but that score was disallowed due to an offside call. He put the defending champions ahead in legitimate fashion about a dozen minutes later.
Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul fired a pass to Messi, his Inter Miami teammate, about 40 yards from the net to start the scoring sequence. Messi performed a quick turn and dribbled through space. He put the ball on his left boot just in front of the box and ripped a shot to his right. The ball curled from left to right, went off the hand of goalie Luca Zidane and found the net.
The goal triggered a stream of tears amid a celebration for the decorated Argentine.
"Why did I cry? It was something completely unrelated to football," Messi said. "I went through some difficult days, but I'm grateful to the entire delegation and my teammates because they were always by my side, giving me a lot of strength to help me get through it."
The top-ranked Argentinians took a 1-0 lead into halftime. Messi doubled that advantage about 15 minutes into the second half. Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister had an initial shot denied during that play. But Zidane failed to collect the ball. Instead, the shot bounced off his gloves and allowed an incoming Messi to score with a follow-up from point-blank range.
Messi continued to threaten until completing his first career World Cup hat trick about 15 minutes later. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner powered an Argentina transition push to spark that score. He then fired a pass ahead to winger Nico Gonzalez, who dribbled toward the box before issuing a return pass.
Messi brought the feed in with his left foot, tapped the ball forward and belted a bouncing shot into the lower-left corner of the net. Argentina players surrounded Messi in celebration as the crowd of nearly 70,000 at Kansas City Stadium roared.
He was replaced by forward Nico Paz in the 80th minute, prompting more applause.
Argentina outshot No. 31 Algeria 10-7, including a 6-1 edge in shots on goal. Messi totaled six shots, with four on target. Algeria held a 52% to 48% advantage in possession and 563-504 advantage in accurate passes.
Messi and Argentina will take on No. 21 Austria in their second Group J match at 1 p.m. EDT Monday in Arlington, Texas. The Argentinians will battle No. 67 Jordan in their group stage finale June 27 on the same field at Dallas Stadium.
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This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 4:52 AM.