Few sights in sports feel more automatic than looking up at a screen and expecting Lionel Messi to find the net. That expectation is part of why fans keep flocking to MLS venues, almost out of instinct. It also helps explain why thousands were willing to spend hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars to fill Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday for Argentina’s World Cup opener against Algeria. Messi’s brilliance can seem so routine that it risks feeling ordinary, especially with his 39th birthday just a week away.
But Messi still has a way of making the familiar feel extraordinary.
On Tuesday in the American Midwest, he added another landmark moment to an already unmatched career. The World Cup-winning captain matched Germany great Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 career goals in the tournament, doing so with a hat trick that once again showcased his effortless brilliance. The record-tying strike may have been the least spectacular of his three on the night, but it still underlined the quality he brings whenever he steps onto the field. Nico Gonzalez picked him out with a pass, and with little pressure around him, Messi had the time and space to line up a shot from the edge of the area. After already scoring twice, there was little doubt about the outcome.
As so often happens with Messi, one milestone was not enough. He reached the record in his 200th appearance for Argentina, while also delivering the first World Cup hat trick of his career. In the process, he became Argentina’s oldest-ever scorer at the tournament exactly 20 years after becoming its youngest. His three-goal performance was also the first hat trick of this summer’s World Cup, after six other players had opened the competition with braces.
That achievement stands out even more given that Messi is no longer at the absolute peak of his powers, and that many remain unconvinced Argentina can successfully defend the title it won in 2022. It has been easy to question whether both Messi and Argentina can still reach their highest level, and one result, however emphatic, may not fully silence those doubts. The spotlight has increasingly shifted toward the next generation, with stars such as France’s Kylian Mbappe and Norway’s Erling Haaland both beginning their World Cup campaigns with braces in commanding victories.
| Rank | Player | Country | Goals | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-1 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 | 2002–14 |
| T-1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 16 | 2006–26 |
| 3 | Ronaldo (R9) | Brazil | 15 | 1994–2006 |
| T-4 | Kylian Mbappé | France | 14 | 2018–26 |
| T-4 | Gerd Müller | West Germany | 14 | 1970–74 |
| 6 | Just Fontaine | France | 13 | 1958 |
| 7 | Pelé | Brazil | 12 | 1958–70 |
| T-8 | Sándor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 1954 |
| T-8 | Jürgen Klinsmann | Germany | 11 | 1990–98 |
| T-10 | Helmut Rahn | West Germany | 10 | 1954–58 |
| T-10 | Teófilo Cubillas | Peru | 10 | 1970–82 |
| T-10 | Gabriel Batistuta | Argentina | 10 | 1994–2002 |
| 13 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 8 | 2006–22 |
Even so, Messi continues to deliver. For the first time in his remarkable World Cup journey, he is playing without the burden of trying to capture the one trophy that had long escaped him. That mission is complete, and his place in football history is secure regardless of what happens this summer. Yet whenever the game seems ready to move on to its next leading man, Messi offers another reminder that his genius remains very much alive. He may no longer be the unstoppable force of his prime, but he is still Messi, and that still means defenders rarely have an answer. Everyone knows what he is capable of, and still they struggle to stop it. His goals may feel predictable in theory, but the way he creates them remains as elusive as ever, leaving rivals and spectators amazed all over again.
Perhaps more impressive is that Messi has checked off a batch of accomplishments in the latter stages of his career. He now stands at 16 World Cup goals, but he had just six entering the 2022 tournament, notching seven last time out as Argentina’s decades-long wait for the title came to an end. Now with the pressure off, there’s a freedom that underscores his play; he continues to make it all look easy, somehow always living up to the billing.
The odds are technically not in Messi’s favor – simply put, an aging star should not be the leader of a title contender, let alone doing this type of thing. Messi has never been the average player and at this point is not your regular post-peak elite athlete. As long as he is on the pitch, Argentina will be difficult to underestimate – and Messi will be impossible to write off.
