Messi scores World Cup hat-trick at 38 to equal Klose's all-time goals record

Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to fire Argentina to a 3-0 victory over Algeria in their 2026 World Cup opener at Kansas City on Tuesday, equalling Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup goals record of 16 in the process.

The 38-year-old Inter Miami forward did everything for the reigning champions, converting in the 17th minute after Rodrigo De Paul split the Algerian defence, then reacting quickest to a second-half spill by goalkeeper Luca Zidane, before completing his treble with 15 minutes remaining — picking up on the edge of the area, shifting onto his left foot and slotting into the bottom corner from 18 yards.

Algeria had threatened early when Fares Chaibi beat Emiliano Martínez, only for VAR to rule the effort out for offside, and Argentina never looked back from that moment.

The hat-trick made Messi the first player to score three goals in a single match at the 2026 tournament, following a string of braces from Elijah Just, Erling Haaland, Folarin Balogun, Yasin Ayari, Kai Havertz and Kylian Mbappé. He also became the oldest player in World Cup history to score a hat-trick, and the first active MLS player to achieve the feat at the tournament.

Messi’s appearance against Algeria was itself historic before a ball was kicked, making him the first player to feature at six World Cup finals. Having scored at four of his previous five tournaments — South Africa 2010 the sole exception — he now sits level with Klose, who set the record across his career with Germany and has held it for 12 years.

Argentina face Austria on Monday, 22 June and Jordan on Sunday, 28 June, with both fixtures offering Messi the opportunity to surpass Klose and stand alone as the leading scorer in World Cup history.