Defending champions Argentina made an ideal “football” appearance at the 2026 World Cup, as they, led by – who else? – Lionel Messi, defeated Algeria 3-0 in the premiere of the 10th group of the top football competition.
The match held in Kansas will forever remain in the memory of the “pulga”, since on the one hand he played for the 200th time with the “albiceleste” and on the other hand he became the first footballer in history to play for the sixth (!) time in a World Cup. At the same time, he achieved a hat-trick for the first time in his World Cup career, after scoring all three goals of the match. Now, Messi has reached the top of the table with the top scorers of all time in the World Cup (16 goals) and “cohabits” with the German, Miroslav Klose.
The match began with two (!) goals in the first eight minutes, which, however, did not count, as both Messi (5`) and Chaibi (8`) were exposed to an offside position.
In the 17th minute, Messi proved why he is the top footballer of the last 20 years. The 38-year-old ace took the ball from De Paul, shortly after the midfield semi-circle, turned on the spot, put the ball in front of him and after taking a few steps “leading” the “round goddess”, he sent it into the left “window” of the helpless Zidane.
In the remainder of the match, the “albiceleste” maintained control and held the lead relatively comfortably, while the notable moments up to 45`+4` were a missed shot by Messi in the 37th minute and two unspent corners by the Algerians.
A shot by Messi in the 51st minute, which did not worry Zidane, was the first notable moment in the second half, with the Argentine internationals keeping the Africans away from their area, who could not find solutions against the “albiceleste”.
But nine minutes later, Messi “spoke” again, when he ideally took advantage of Zidane’s shaky save on McAllister’s shot and with a close-range shot, “locked” the victory for the world champions.
In the 76th minute, the “flea” triumphantly completed the dream evening, as he shot from the penalty spot, leaving no room for reaction for Zidane, who played with a protective mask on his face.
And five minutes later, “pulga” was applauded by the thousands of fans who were on the field, as he gave his place to Nikos Paz.
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
Yellows :
Reds :
Lineups:
ARGENTINA (Lionel Scaloni): E. Martinez, Montiel (46` Molina), Romero (81` Otamendi), L. Martinez, Medina, McAllister, Fernandes, De Paul, Messi (81` Paz), L. Martinez (55` Alvarez), Almada (56` Gonzalez).
ALGERIA (Vladimir Petkovic): Zidane, Belgali, Madi, Bencebaini, Ait-Nouri, Moussa (64` Mahrez), Mouddaoui (64` Amoura), Bentaleb (81` Zerouki), Chaibi, Maza (82` Bulbina), Guiri (64` Aouar).