Messi played jazz in Kansas City, Argentina's championship start

When he lifted the "golden goddess" in Qatar in 2022 and became world champion with Argentina, Lionel Messi didn't have to prove anything to anyone. He became the greatest of all time.

Four years later, he continues to prove himself - pushing boundaries, rewriting history...

And he dances around the field, even though he will turn 39 next week.

The magician from Rosario first became the first footballer in history to appear in six different World Cups, donning the Albiceleste jersey for the 200th time, and then marked two anniversaries in spectacular fashion - with a hat-trick in Argentina's 3-0 victory over Algeria in the first round of Group J.

The third goal, scored in the 76th minute with a powerful left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area, brought Messi his 16th goal at the World Cup, tying him with legendary German striker Miroslav Klose at the top of the list of top scorers in World Cup history.

Messi's latest feat is given special weight by the fact that just a few hours earlier, Kylian Mbappe, with two goals against Senegal, reached the figure of 14 goals in the World Cup and briefly surpassed Messi's previous performance.

As if the legendary final between Argentina and Qatar three and a half years ago had been continued, Messi and Mbappe are still competing on the biggest stage.

Although he had enough time to try to break the record already in this match, Messi, who turns 39 next week, left the field in the 80th minute to a standing ovation on an open stage in the city of jazz, Kansas City.

Argentina continued where they left off in Qatar, starting their path to defending the throne in championship fashion, although Messi's bravura overshadowed all the collective achievements.

It was as if he was playing alone against the Algerians...

The "Desert Foxes", with Sarajevo's Vladimir Petković on the bench, had a bit more possession of the ball during the match, but failed to get a single shot on target. The African team's goalie was Luka Zidan, son of the famous Zinedine Zidane, who made three saves.

Messi could have scored in the fifth minute, when he crossed for Zidane, but the goal was disallowed for offside. A few minutes later, Algeria also scored through Fares Chaibi, but that goal was also disallowed for the same reason.

The first goal of the regular season came in the 17th minute. Messi's Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo de Paul sent a great pass through the Algerian defense, and the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner took advantage of the space and hit the top right corner of the goal with a precise shot from about 20 meters.

With that goal, Messi joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the only player to score in five different editions of the World Cup.

Towards the end of the first half, Algeria threatened through Anis Hadj Moussa, who after a nice breakthrough shot towards the goal, but the ball ended up with Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Messi scored his second goal in the 60th minute. After a powerful shot from distance by Alexis McAllister, Luca Zidane blocked the ball, but it went straight to the Argentina captain, who routinely sent it into the net for 2-0.

Masi put an end to the match in the 76th minute, when he completed a hat-trick with a precise shot from the top of the penalty area, bringing Argentina a convincing triumph and writing a new page in football history.