Messi scored 16 goals in the World Cup

Kansas City. Lionel Messi scored his first World Cup hat-trick as defending champion Argentina defeated Algeria 3-0 in the first match of the group stage. Messi now has 16 World Cup goals, making him equal with Germany’s Miroslav Klose in the list of highest goalscorers.

Messi scored the first goal in the opening minutes on a pass from his Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo de Paul. The second goal was scored at the beginning of the second half and the third in the last minutes, after which the audience stood up and gave him a standing ovation.

Messi scored this goal for Argentina 20 years after his World Cup debut against Serbia and Montenegro. He then also scored a goal in his first World Cup match. Last time in the World Cup held in Qatar, Argentina was defeated by Saudi Arabia in the first match but after that they brought their campaign back on track and won their third world title.

Looking at the game of Messi, who will turn 39 next week, it did not appear that he was suffering from a thigh muscle injury before the tournament. He could have had more goals but one went offside and the other shot hit the crossbar. Now Argentina will face Austria on Monday and Jordan on June 27. Algeria will play Jordan on Monday and Austria on June 27.

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