Messi was awarded player of the match. Emiliano Martinez has not had a single save to make. Argentina kept a clean sheet after a lot of talk about them defensively.
Messi is the first player to score a hat-trick at the World Cup finals since Kylian Mbappe did so in the 2022 final. France v Argentina ended 3-3 after extra-time in that match, with Messi scoring a penalty in the shootout as Argentina 4-2 on spot kicks.
Argentina win the ball late in the match and the first thought is to find Messi. They give him the ball in the centre circle, he has a runner left and right and he propels forward. Gonzalez gave the ball straight back to Messi and he hit it hard and low. The goalkeeper could not get to it at full stretch. That was a wonderful goal to complete his hat-trick.
There would be no more goals for Messi on the night. He was substituted and replaced by Nico Paz. Argentina's next match is against Austria on Monday, when Messi could move outright ahead of Klose for the most World Cup goals.
He's still the best player in the world
Leon Osman said:
As much as I've said Algeria were disappointing, Argentina were very good. They did everything asked of them and they kept a clean sheet after a lot of talk about them defensively. When you are defending a trophy, you want to start your next time well and they have done that.
I thought Algeria would be better
One fan wrote:
Very jealous of the fans who got to watch that match in the flesh...
Another fan posted:
Against Austria and Jordan, it will be a basketful of goals for Messi. We are not ready for this.... Extraterrestrial!
A separate fan comment read:
He's 39 nearly and he's still the best player in the world! Easily the greatest. If you give that amount of space at that place for Messi, there's only going to be one outcome. Simply the best. He's 38. He shouldn't be this good. If this is the level of quality he provides with the ball, of course his team-mates will do his share of running off it.
