By Abigail David
Lionel Messi further cemented his place in World Cup history after scoring a hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Algeria, adding to an already remarkable list of achievements at football’s biggest tournament.
The Argentina captain equalled Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup scoring record of 16 goals and matched the German legend’s tally of 17 World Cup victories.
The Inter Miami forward also became the first player to score against 11 different national teams at the World Cup, surpassing the previous record of 10 shared by Brazil’s Ronaldo Nazário and Germany’s Jürgen Klinsmann.
At 38 years and 357 days old, Messi set another milestone by becoming the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick, overtaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s previous record set at the 2018 tournament.
Among the major records already held by the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner are six World Cup appearances, the most by any player, 27 matches played, a record 20 games as captain and the highest number of minutes played in tournament history.
Messi is also Argentina’s leading World Cup scorer and the highest-scoring South American in the competition’s history. He remains the only player to have scored in every knockout stage of a single World Cup, a feat achieved during Argentina’s triumph in Qatar 2022.
The Argentine star has registered assists in five different World Cups, won the Player of the Match award a record 12 times and is the only footballer to claim the adidas Golden Ball on two occasions.
With Argentina still competing, Messi could become the first player to reach 30 World Cup appearances and surpass Klose’s goal record outright, adding further chapters to one of football’s greatest careers.
