Lionel Messi has tied Miroslav Klose’s men’s World Cup goals record with 16, scoring a hat trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas City 20 years to the day after his tournament debut.
A hat trick and a historic number
Playing his 200th match for Argentina, Messi scored all three goals in a 3-0 win over Algeria, lifting his World Cup tally to 16 and drawing level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose at the top of the men’s all‑time list.
ESPN reports that the hat trick, his first at a World Cup and 11th of his international career, also made him the oldest player to score three in a finals game at 38, adding another chapter to an already crowded résumé.
The milestone came exactly 20 years after his World Cup debut in 2006, when a teenage Messi scored against Serbia and Montenegro in Germany.
According to FIFA statistics cited by AP and USA Today, he is now only the second man to score in five World Cups and the first to appear in six, spanning tournaments from 2006 to 2026.
How the goals came in Kansas City
Argentina’s first competitive match since lifting the trophy in Qatar began with Messi setting the tone early at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Midway through the first half, he drifted into a pocket just outside the area, took a pass from midfielder Rodrigo De Paul and struck a left‑footed shot inside the far post to give Argentina a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, Messi doubled the advantage by finishing off a flowing move, timing his run behind the Algerian back line and slotting coolly past the goalkeeper.
He then completed his hat trick with another composed finish, sealing a 3-0 victory that AP says “felt inevitable once he opened the scoring” and underscored Argentina’s control of the match.
CBS Sports notes that it was Argentina’s first World Cup match since the 2022 final in Lusail, and Messi’s three “expertly taken goals” offered “the latest reminder of his unnaturally natural talent.”
By the time he was substituted late on, he received a standing ovation from a heavily pro‑Argentina crowd that had turned the NFL venue into a sky‑blue bowl.
The numbers behind the record
Messi entered the night on 13 World Cup goals, three behind Klose’s mark of 16, and left level at the summit, having effectively halved the gap in one game.
USA Today’s tally shows that his 16 goals are spread across six tournaments: one in 2006, four in 2014, one in 2018, seven in 2022 and now three in 2026.
AP reports that he has now scored in five successive World Cup matches, stretching back to the knockout rounds in Qatar, and that Argentina’s win over Algeria also ties him with Klose for the most World Cup victories by a player, at 17.
CBS Sports notes that he reached just six World Cup goals before his late‑career surge, adding seven in 2022 and a further three in this tournament’s opener to reach 16.
A table compiled by USA Today places Messi level with Klose on 16, ahead of Brazil’s Ronaldo on 15, France’s Just Fontaine on 13 and Pelé on 12, with France’s Kylian Mbappé one back on 14 after his brace against Senegal earlier the same day.
The consensus among analysts quoted by AP and Reuters is that, with at least two group games remaining and Argentina among the favorites to go deep again, Messi is now “well positioned” to stand alone atop the list.
A night of overlapping milestones
The hat trick in Kansas City layered multiple milestones on top of the goals record chase.
FOX Sports and CBS Sports highlight that Messi’s performance came in his 200th cap for Argentina, making him one of the very few players to reach that mark while still functioning as his country’s primary attacking focal point.
He also became Argentina’s oldest World Cup scorer while extending a symmetry that Argentina fans relish: exactly 20 years after becoming their youngest World Cup scorer in 2006, he is now their oldest hat‑trick hero at the finals.
AP adds that this was the first hat trick of the 2026 tournament, following six separate players who had opened the competition with braces over the first round of fixtures.
Messi’s night also added to a shared record with Cristiano Ronaldo: both are now the only men to have scored in five different World Cup editions, a testament to their longevity as much as their finishing.
Where Messi has now edged ahead is in overall World Cup appearances, with six tournaments played to Ronaldo’s five.
Match context: Argentina versus Algeria
Beyond the milestones, Argentina’s performance against Algeria offered a reminder of why they remain among the favorites.
ESPN describes a match in which Lionel Scaloni’s side dictated tempo and limited Algeria’s chances, leaning on familiar patterns: tight pressing when they lost the ball, controlled build‑up through De Paul and Enzo Fernández, and quick combinations to spring Messi into space.
Algeria, appearing in their first World Cup since 2014, struggled to cope with Messi’s movement and Argentina’s rotations, though they kept the scoreline respectable until late in the game.
The 3-0 result sets Argentina up comfortably in their group, with two fixtures remaining against opponents viewed on paper as weaker than the reigning champions.
Yahoo’s broader World Cup live blog framed the day as one in which “some of the tournament’s biggest stars” delivered, noting Messi’s hat trick alongside Mbappé’s brace for France and Erling Haaland’s double for Norway.
In that constellation, Messi’s record‑tying performance in the American Midwest stood out as the headline moment.
US and global angles
For U.S. audiences, Messi’s hat trick at Arrowhead Stadium provided a marquee moment for a World Cup being co‑hosted on home soil, echoing the atmosphere that accompanied his MLS move and underlining his ongoing draw as a live attraction.
The match turned an NFL venue best known for the Kansas City Chiefs into a stage for one of the sport’s greatest ever players to rewrite history, reinforcing the tournament’s aim of embedding global football deeper into the American sports calendar.
Globally, the milestone intensifies debate over Messi’s place in World Cup and all‑time lists, with his 16 goals now matching Klose’s total but achieved over a longer span and with a title already secured in 2022.
With Argentina’s campaign only just under way, the question has already shifted from if to when he will move clear, another storyline that will follow both him and the tournament as the knockout rounds come into view.
