RIYADH: In a tournament that will serve as a farewell for many football icons, the world eagerly anticipated what Lionel Messi would produce in Argentina’s opener against Algeria.
That anticipation only grew on a night when Kylian Mbappe scored twice to move ahead of him in the all-time World Cup goalscoring charts.
By full time, however, it was Messi who had reclaimed the spotlight. At 39, the Argentine was once again the best player on the pitch, leading Argentina to a 3-0 victory over a subdued Algeria with a hat trick.
Both sets of fans were treated to celebrations inside the opening 10 minutes.
In the fifth minute, Messi set off a fraction too early to receive a line-breaking pass and clip the ball past Luca Zidane. Three minutes later, Ibrahim Maza received the ball in midfield, beat Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister before sending Fares Chaibi through on goal to score.
Unfortunately for both teams, both efforts were ruled out for offside. But Messi would soon return to torment Algeria.
Nine minutes later, Rodrigo de Paul released him with a pass through Algeria’s midfield. He took a few touches before unleashing a curling effort at Zidane, who was unable to keep it out.
Messi marked his 200th cap for Argentina by scoring at a fifth different World Cup, just 17 minutes after becoming the first player to appear at six competitions.
He also became the third-oldest player to score at the World Cup, behind Pepe and Roger Milla.
The game slowed shortly afterward. Argentina attempted to draw Algeria out of their defensive block to little effect, while Algeria adopted a more cautious approach to ensure Argentina could not find space between the lines.
Algeria finally threatened in the 40th minute, when a through ball found Amine Gouiri on the byline. His cross toward goal was pushed away by Emiliano Martinez for a corner.
After the break, damp patches began to emerge following rainfall. The conditions slowed the game further, but did not prevent Messi and Maza from taking on defenders and acting as creative outlets for their sides.
Once again, it was Messi who stole the spotlight. In the 53rd minute, he released Lautaro Martinez into the channel, but Zidane palmed away the striker’s effort.
At the hour mark, Zidane failed to hold onto a long-range shot from Mac Allister, with the rebound falling kindly for Messi to finish calmly.
With that goal, Messi moved to within one strike of the all-time World Cup goalscoring record. Just five minutes later, he almost equaled Miroslav Klose’s mark, only for Zidane to produce a powerful save.
Algeria responded with a triple substitution in an attempt to reinvigorate their attack, introducing Riyad Mahrez, Houssem Aouar and Mohamed Amoura in place of Hicham Boudaoui, Anis Hadj Moussa and Amine Gouiri.
It did little to change their fortunes.
Messi then did what the footballing world had been waiting for. The Argentine equaled Klose’s World Cup goalscoring record by completing his hat trick in the 76th minute, finishing low into the corner from just outside the box.
He was soon substituted, leaving the pitch to a standing ovation as supporters throughout the stadium chanted his name.
It will forever be a night to remember for Messi, but one to forget for Algeria, who arrived at this World Cup with high hopes and ambitions of causing an upset in their first appearance at the tournament since pushing Germany to extra time in 2014.
