Almighty Messi: I had some difficult days, I'm happy to have survived everything that happened to me

Argentina national football team player Lionel Messi said that he believes it is very important that his team defeated Algeria in their first match at this year's World Cup.

The Argentine national team defeated the Algerian national team 3-0 today in Kansas City, in the first round match of Group J at the World Cup.

Messi scored all three goals for the reigning world champions in today's match, equalling Miroslav Klose's record for the total number of goals scored in World Cups.

"This is my sixth World Cup and I still feel like I'm in good shape. Luckily, I'm doing well and today we managed to win a difficult game. It's important to start the tournament by winning the first game, because that's never easy in the World Cup," Messi said.

The legendary Argentine footballer today joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the only player to score goals in five different World Cups, and he also became the first footballer to appear in six World Cups.

Messi wiped away his tears with his jersey after scoring his first goal in today's match.

"I had some difficult days. It wasn't related to football. And those feelings were because of that. I thank my teammates, the coaching staff and the delegation for helping me. It makes me very happy to have survived everything that happened to me. What I'm experiencing now is the icing on the cake. I'm very happy and grateful to this wonderful group. I'm enjoying it a lot," said Messi.

The Argentine national team will play against the Austrian national team in the second round of Group J in Arlington.