The Argentina national team began their title defense with a confident victory over Algeria. The main hero of the match was Lionel Messi, who scored a hat-trick, tied Miroslav Klose's record, and set another historic achievement.
The Argentina national team successfully started the World Cup, defeating Algeria 3-0 in their opening match of Group J.
All three goals for the reigning world champions were scored by Lionel Messi. The Argentine scored in the 17th, 60th, and 76th minutes, effectively securing a comfortable victory for his team single-handedly.
This match was special for several reasons. Messi became the first player in history to participate in six final tournaments of the World Cup. Additionally, with his hat-trick, he brought his total number of goals in World Cup tournaments to 16, tying with the legendary German striker Miroslav Klose for this record.
Now Messi and Klose share the top spot on the list of all-time World Cup scorers. Following them is Brazilian Ronaldo with 15 goals, along with Germans Gerd Müller and Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, who each have 14 goals.
The achievement is particularly valuable for the Argentine as the record hat-trick was scored in his 200th match for the national team.
Meanwhile, in Group I, France won against Senegal with a score of 3-1. Kylian Mbappé scored two goals for the French, continuing his pursuit of the leaders in the historical World Cup scoring race.
In another match of the day, Norway confidently defeated Iraq 4-1. Erling Haaland scored twice, Leo Estigard added another goal, and the fourth goal was an own goal by Ayman Hussein. It was Hussein who earlier equalized by scoring the only goal for his team.
For Argentina, the victory was an important step towards advancing to the knockout stage. In Group J, the team still has matches against Austria and Jordan ahead.
This World Cup has become the largest in the tournament's history. For the first time, it features 48 national teams divided into 12 groups. The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the knockout stage.
The group stage will conclude on June 27, after which the knockout matches will begin. The tournament final will take place on July 19.
Argentina arrived at the World Cup as the reigning champion. In the previous World Cup in Qatar, the Argentines won a dramatic final against France in a penalty shootout, claiming their third title in history.
