Lionel Messi equalled the FIFA World Cup goalscoring record with a brilliant hat-trick as defending champions Argentina opened their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Algeria, while Kylian Mbappe became France’s all-time leading scorer in a 3-1 win over Senegal.
On a day dominated by two of football’s biggest stars, Messi and Mbappe both reached major milestones to help their countries begin the tournament with important victories.
In Kansas City, Messi delivered another masterclass on the biggest stage. The Argentina captain entered the match needing three goals to equal former Germany striker Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup record of 16 goals. Seventy-six minutes later, the 38-year-old had done exactly that.
After both Messi and Algeria’s Fares Chaibi had goals ruled out for offside in an entertaining opening period, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion.
Picking up possession around 30 yards from goal, Messi turned his marker, surged forward and curled a superb finish beyond goalkeeper Luca Zidane to give Argentina the lead.
Algeria remained competitive for much of the first half and created opportunities of their own. Anis Hadj Moussa tested Argentina’s defence, while the reigning champions struggled to create clear openings beyond Alexis Mac Allister’s header over the bar.
However, Messi took control after the break. His second goal arrived on the hour mark when Zidane failed to hold a powerful strike from Mac Allister, allowing Messi to react quickest and finish from close range.
The hat-trick was completed in trademark style as Messi curled another precise effort from the edge of the area to cap his 200th senior international appearance.
“What made the difference is that they have a player who is ruthless. He might be the best player of all time,” Algeria captain Aissa Mandi said afterwards.
The result leaves Argentina well placed in Group J, while Algeria must regroup ahead of their next fixture against Jordan.
Elsewhere, Senegal’s World Cup campaign began with a disappointing 3-1 defeat to France in New York New Jersey.
The Teranga Lions started brightly and threatened an upset, creating several early chances through Nicolas Jackson and Ismaila Sarr.
Jackson thought he had given Senegal the lead at one stage, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
France improved significantly after halftime and eventually broke through thanks to Mbappe.
Michael Olise played a clever pass into the France captain, who fired beyond Edouard Mendy to draw level with Olivier Giroud’s national team scoring record of 57 goals.
Mbappe then moved into outright first place with his second goal of the night, producing a superb strike from outside the penalty area after Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye had exchanged late goals.
Despite the defeat, Senegal showed encouraging signs and remained competitive for long periods against one of the tournament favourites.
“We weren’t able to execute our game plan. We have to learn from it and turn our attention to Norway,” Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy said after the match.
