{"id":2292,"date":"2026-06-17T04:37:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T04:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2292"},"modified":"2026-06-17T04:37:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T04:37:36","slug":"messi-has-his-first-world-cup-hat-trick-as-defending-champion-argentina-beats-algeria-3-0-in-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2292","title":{"rendered":"Messi has his first World Cup hat trick as defending champion Argentina beats Algeria 3-0 in opener"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>By DAVE SKRETTA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) \u2014 Lionel Messi registered his first World Cup hat trick while moving into a tie for first on the tournament\u2019s career scoring list Tuesday night, sending defending champion Argentina to a dominant 3-0 victory over Algeria in its group-stage opener.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2290\">Review: \u2018Toy Story 5\u2019 plugs right in to Pixar\u2019s extraordinary franchise<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Messi scored his first goal in the opening minutes off a nifty feed from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, the second early in the second half, and the third moments before subbing out to a standing ovation from a heavily pro-Argentina crowd.<\/p>\n<p>The goals came 20 years to the day that Messi made his World Cup debut for Argentina in a match against Serbia and Montenegro \u2014 he scored in that one, too \u2014 and gave him 16 for his career, putting him in a tie with Germany\u2019s Miroslav Klose for the career record.<\/p>\n<p>They also helped Argentina get off to a better start than the last World Cup. Four years ago in Qatar, La Albiceleste were beaten by Saudi Arabia in their opening match, only to rally from there to win their third world title.<\/p>\n<p>Messi, who turns 39 next week, nearly had two other goals against Algeria, never once looking like the mild hamstring injury that worried fans in the run-up to the tournament was a problem. One found the back of the net but was called back because he was ever-so-slightly offside, and another strike in the second half just cleared the crossbar.<\/p>\n<p>He was a pest on defense, too, helping Algeria lock down the overmatched Les Fennecs.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2288\">Blighted housing project site in San Jose defaults on failed financing<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Their best chance came in the opening minutes, when Fares Chaibi\u2019s would-be goal was taken away by a VAR review that showed he also was offside. Messi scored moments later, and the rest of the night belonged to him and Argentina.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The game played at Arrowhead Stadium fulfilled the longtime dream of the late Lamar Hunt, who not only founded the NFL franchise that calls it home, but who was instrumental in the growth of soccer in the U.S. from the 1960s through the early 2000s.<\/p>\n<p>Hunt played a big role in the U.S. hosting the 1994 World Cup. His sons, Clark and Dan, are doing likewise with this edition.<\/p>\n<p>Among those in the crowd on a picture-perfect night in the Heartland were Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who traded in his usual red-and-yellow football uniform for a blue sweatsuit and white shirt, and his wife, Brittany.<\/p>\n<p>Argentina will continue its pursuit of back-to-back World Cup titles in Arlington, Texas, when it plays Austria on Monday and Jordan on June 27. Algeria plays Jordan on Monday in Santa Clara, California, before facing Austria in its Group J finale on June 27 back in Kansas City.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2286\">Letters: White House \u2018aliens\u2019 site aims to dehumanize our neighbors<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>AP World Cup: https:\/\/apnews.com\/fifa-world-cup<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Messi&#8217;s three goals gives him 16 for his career, putting him in a tie with Germany\u2019s Miroslav Klose for the career record in the World Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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