Messi leads Argentinian squad with hat trick at record 6th World Cup appearance

WASHINGTON, June 17. /TASS/. Appearing in his record sixth World Cup, Argentina’s Lionel Messi led his squad to a 3-0 win over Algeria as he scored all of the goals during the match.

With some 69,050 spectators in attendance at Kansas City Stadium the Argentinian football striker netted a hat trick for his team, bringing his total number of goals scored on football’s biggest stage to 16, equaling the all-time record held by German forward Miroslav Klose.

And the accolades don’t stop there for the 38-year-old Argentinian, as his match against Algeria was his record 27th World Cup game played. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, is second with 22 matches among this year’s players.

The captain of the Argentinian national football team, Messi, boasts 120 goals in 200 matches on the international stage throughout his career.

Messi won the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 2021 Copa America and gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Argentinian striker owns a record eight Ballon d’Or awards and a record six European Golden Shoes.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States between June 11 and July 19. The matches are staged in 16 cities across the three countries. This is the first FIFA World Cup featuring 48 teams instead of the previous 32-team format.