Three and a half years after winning the World Cup title that placed him among the greats of the game, Argentina legend Lionel Messi reminded everyone of his genius at the age of 39, when he scored a hat-trick to beat Algeria, equalling the record for most goals scored in World Cup history.
Thanks to his three goals - a hat-trick - against the Desert Warriors' goalkeeper Luca Zidane, Messi has raised his tally of goals in the World Cup to 16, equaling the record held by German football icon Miroslav Klose.
Leo, the eight-time world player of the year, also became the first player to play in six different finals of the tournament, in his 200th match with the Albiceleste, for whom he has scored 120 goals so far.
Messi had scored one goal in 2006, four in 2014, one in 2018, and seven in 2022, the first time he has scored a hat-trick in the World Cup, bringing his total to 16 goals in 27 World Cup matches.
His goals came in the 17th, 60th and 76th minutes, before his coach Lionel Scaloni rested him, amidst a magical atmosphere in Kansas in front of sixty thousand spectators, most of whom chanted “Messi, Messi, Messi.”
In addition to all of the above, Messi has become the player with the most international hat-tricks of all time, with about 11 hat-tricks in the shirt of the Tango national team, surpassing his traditional rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who did it 10 times with his Portuguese national team.
Leo's resurgence with the World Cup holders comes after his recovery from a muscle injury he suffered with his American team, Inter Miami, last May.
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