In the opening group-stage match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Argentina faced Algeria. In the 76th minute, Lionel Messi scored with a stunning long-range strike to complete a hat-trick. At 38 years and 357 days old, Messi became the oldest player in World Cup history to score a hat-trick.

Messi broke the record previously set by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018. Ronaldo had scored a hat-trick against Spain at the age of 33 years and 122 days, making him the oldest hat-trick scorer in World Cup history at the time. Messi has now extended that record by more than five years.

This was also Messi's first-ever hat-trick in a World Cup match. With these three goals, he drew level with Miroslav Klose as the joint all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.