Lionel Messi has become the top scorer in World Cup history

Argentina opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a strong win over Algeria, powered by a Lionel Messi hat-trick.

It was the first time Messi has scored three goals in a single World Cup match. The Argentina captain took centre stage throughout and drove his side to victory.

The three-goal display took Messi to 16 World Cup goals in total, level with Miroslav Klose at the top of the all-time scoring chart.

Ronaldo Nazário sits second on 15, while Gerd Müller and Kylian Mbappé are tied in third place on 14.