Messi nets hat trick to tie Klose record with 16th World Cup goal

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Lionel Messi made history Tuesday night by tying Miroslav Klose's record for most men's World Cup goals at 16 after scoring a hat trick to lead Argentina to a 3-0 win over Algeria.

The hat trick was the 11th of Messi's international career but first at the World Cup. At 38, he became the oldest player to score three goals in a game at the tournament. He came off late in the second half to a rousing ovation from the partisan Argentina crowd at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

"It's an honor being up there for what it means, being alongside Klose and [Brazil's] Ronaldo, who is there also. But it doesn't mean anything," Messi said after the game. "[Kylian] Mbappé is there, too, he scored twice today. At the end of the day, they are stats and nothing more.

"It's an honor to compete with them, but it doesn't mean anything. For me, Ronaldo, who I watched and is one of the greats, is not at the top. So, it's just stats."

When Messi took the field for defending champion Argentina's first group stage match -- his 200th with the national team -- he also became the first player to feature in six World Cups.

Messi broke the record of five World Cups held by Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal); Antonio Carbajal, Andrés Guardado and Rafael Márquez (all Mexico); and Lothar Matthäus (Germany). (Ronaldo should equal the mark in Portugal's opener against Congo on Wednesday.)

Messi gave Argentina the early lead in the first half with a left-footed strike from just outside the area. He then scored twice in the second half to complete the hat trick and equal Klose's record of 16 goals for Germany.

The Argentina captain was left in tears after his first goal.

"Why did I cry? It was something completely unrelated to football," Messi said after the match. "I went through some difficult days, but I'm grateful to the entire delegation and my teammates because they were always by my side, giving me a lot of strength to help me get through it."

The goals came 20 years to the day that Messi made his World Cup debut for Argentina in a match against Serbia and Montenegro -- he scored in that one, too -- and made him only the second player to score in five editions of the tournament.

Argentina's triumph also meant that Messi is tied for the most World Cup victories with Klose at 17.

It was the fifth straight World Cup game in which Messi has scored, but there were doubts about his fitness coming into the tournament after he came off early in his last MLS match with Inter Miami in May due to muscle fatigue.

"It makes me very happy to have lived through everything that came my way," Messi added. "What I'm living through now is the cherry on top. I'm very happy and grateful for this wonderful group, I enjoy it so much."

Argentina are among four teams making their base camp in the Kansas City area, and much as it has the rest of the world, Messi mania has swept through the area ever since La Albiceleste's arrival about two weeks ago.

On match day, thousands of fans wearing his No. 10 jersey trekked into the home of the NFL's Chiefs on the outskirts of Kansas City, singing odes to their hero from Rosario. Meanwhile, during a watch party at the downtown Power & Light District, a goat accompanied by former NFL quarterback-turned-Fox broadcaster Jameis Winston came on stage wearing an Argentina jersey.

The humorous moment seemed to have foreshadowed a big night for Messi when he scored an hour later, and the argument that he is soccer's GOAT is becoming no argument at all with every World Cup goal he scores.

Messi's hat trick came on a day when Erling Haaland and Mbappé both scored twice in wins for Norway and France, respectively, but the Argentine was not to be outdone.

For his teammates, who have had a front-row seat to Messi's heroics throughout their careers, Tuesday's feat was both remarkable and something they've come to expect.

"It's an advantage to have Leo because of how he handles the group and pushes it forward. Because of who he is," Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul said. "He doesn't care about individual records. He prioritizes the group, and for us it's incredible."

Alexis Mac Allister added: "There are no words to describe him. If anyone thought this team was better without Leo, today it was proven that the opposite is true. He is our most important player. We need to build a team around him, and we are doing it."

Argentina play Austria in Dallas on June 22 before wrapping up group play against Jordan.

"The first matches of a World Cup are always tough, and we're seeing that nobody's giving anything away," Messi said. "It's a competitive World Cup with well-prepared national teams."

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN Global Research was used in the report.

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