Lionel Messi becomes oldest player to score World Cup hat-trick; surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo

The Argentine recorded a hat-trick against Algeria.

Lionel Messi continues to make history. Argentina kicked off their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign against Algeria. The Argentina captain had already set multiple records before the match, but his appearance added another particular achievement to his great career.

Messi became the only player in football history to compete in six different World Cups. The Argentine great had already competed in five tournaments before this. His performance against Algeria elevated him to an exclusive list.

Messi’s 200th appearance for Argentina came during the game against Algeria. No other player has more national team appearances than the 38-year-old forward.

Lionel Messi achieves a historic record

Lionel Messi’s stunning performance against Algeria in Group J of the FIFA World Cup 2026 saw him score a hat-trick in Argentina’s opening World Cup encounter. It gave them a 3-0 lead as the defending champions concluded the game with an impressive win.

Argentina took the lead after Messi scored the first goal in the 17th minute of the game. He then scored again in the 60th and 76th minutes to complete his hat trick.

Lionel Messi became the oldest player to score more than one goal in a FIFA World Cup match. This comes after his hat-trick for Argentina against Algeria during the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the age of 38 years and 357 days.

He broke the previous record of Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo was 33 years and 130 days old in his 2018 World Cup’s hattrick for Portugal against Spain.

This has become an iconic performance for Lionel Messi, who is at his sixth World Cup. Although one goal was disallowed for offside at the start, he subsequently scored three straight goals, leaving Algeria’s defence vulnerable.

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