{"id":3261,"date":"2026-06-17T05:35:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T05:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3261"},"modified":"2026-06-17T05:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T05:35:32","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:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3261","title":{"rendered":"Messi has his first World Cup hat trick as defending champion Argentina beats Algeria 3-0 in opener"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\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:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3259\">Lionel Messi ties the World Cup goals record with an incredible hat trick as Argentina tops Algeria<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Messi scored his first goal in the opening minutes on a nice feed from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, the second on a rebound early in the second half. Shortly after he got his third on a strike from the top of the penalty box, he subbed out to a standing ovation from a heavily pro-Argentina crowd.<\/p>\n<p>The trio of goals gave him 16 for his career, putting him in a tie with Germany\u2019s Miroslav Klose for the career record. They also allowed him to join Portugal\u2019s Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to have scored in five World Cups.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first matches at the World Cup are always tough,\u201d Messi said after playing in the tournament for a record-setting sixth time, \u201cand we\u2019re seeing that nobody\u2019s giving anything away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Well, almost nothing. Algeria made some crucial mistakes on the first two of Messi\u2019s goals, which came 20 years to the day that he made his World Cup debut for Argentina in a match against Serbia and Montenegro \u2014 he scored in that one, too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not talking about any old footballer,\u201d Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic said. \u201cUnfortunately we also afford him the opportunity with the first and second goal, and we actually made it easier for him. But Messi, with his clear thinking in crucial stages of the game, is able to do things that much more easily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Messi\u2019s brilliant hat trick helped Argentina get off to a much better start than its last World Cup. Four years ago, La Albiceleste were beaten by Saudi Arabia in their opening match in Qatar, only to rally from there to win their third world title.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first match is always tricky,\u201d Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. \u201cWe had stumbled in the last World Cup and we needed to have a good debut today.\u201d<\/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 Argentina lock down the overmatched Les Fennecs. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3257\">NC 98 in Franklin County to be closed until October for new roundabout: NCDOT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cArgentina have a special player who can change a game on his own,\u201d Algeria star Riyad Mahrez said.<\/p>\n<p>Algeria\u2019s best chance came in the opening minutes, when Fares Chaibi\u2019s would-be goal was taken away by a VAR review that showed he was offside. Messi scored moments later, and the rest of the night belonged to him and Argentina.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI like playing soccer. It\u2019s been my passion since I was little,\u201d Messi said. \u201cWhen I\u2019m in good shape, I give it my all.\u201d<\/p>\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 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 in Kansas City.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe goal,\u201d De Paul said, \u201cis always to arrive on the first day and leave on the last.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3255\">Carolina Hurricanes fans get new tattoos after Stanley Cup win<\/a><\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>AP World Cup: https:\/\/apnews.com\/fifa-world-cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) \u2014 Lionel Messi registered his first World Cup hat trick while&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Messi has his first World Cup hat trick as defending champion Argentina beats Algeria 3-0 in opener - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3261\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Messi has his first World Cup hat trick as defending champion Argentina beats Algeria 3-0 in opener - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"KANSAS CITY, Mo. 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