Lionel Messi has once again shown why he remains one of football’s greatest players. The Argentine superstar scored a brilliant hat-trick as Argentina defeated Algeria 3-0 in their opening Group J match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Kansas City.
With this performance, Algeria has now replaced Nigeria as the African team Messi has scored the most goals against.
The 38-year-old now has five goals in just two matches against the Desert Warriors, compared to three goals in four appearances against the Super Eagles.
Messi opened the scoring with a stunning long-range left-footed strike in the 17th minute. He added the second after pouncing on a spilled save and completed his hat-trick with a clinical finish in the 76th minute. The result gave defending champions Argentina a perfect start to their title defense.
A Historic Night for Messi
The hat-trick saw Messi equal Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals and surpass Pelé’s mark for total World Cup goal contributions. He also became the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick exactly 20 years after scoring his first World Cup goal in 2006.
Nigeria, who failed to qualify for this tournament, previously held the unwanted record as Messi’s favorite African opponent. The Super Eagles suffered a 4-0 defeat to Argentina in 2022, with Messi scoring once in that encounter.
What It Means for African Football
This result highlights the continued dominance of top South American and European teams over African sides at the World Cup. While Algeria put up a fight, especially early on, Messi’s quality proved decisive.
For Nigerian fans, seeing Algeria take over this record may sting a little, especially after years of tough encounters with Messi and Argentina. However, it also serves as motivation for the Super Eagles to improve and return stronger in future competitions.
The match was full of drama, with both sides having goals disallowed for offside before Messi’s masterclass took over.
As the 2026 World Cup continues, all eyes will be on whether Messi can lead Argentina to back-to-back titles or if an African team can finally break the pattern and cause a major upset.
This result adds to the growing list of tough encounters for Nigeria on the global stage, similar to recent challenges faced by the team in international competitions.