Argentina captain Lionel Messi commenced his historic sixth World Cup tournament with a spectacular hat-trick to equal the all-time goalscoring record as the defending champions secured a comfortable 3-0 victory against Algeria. The Group J encounter, held at the 69,045-capacity Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, saw the South American giants launch their title defence in a dominant fashion. With this magnificent individual display, the 38-year-old forward has now tied German legend Miroslav Klose at the pinnacle of the World Cup scoring chart with 16 goals.
By leading his team onto the pitch, Messi set a historic milestone as the first male footballer to participate in six different World Cup tournaments, marking his 200th senior international appearance. The talisman opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a trademark curling strike from 30 yards out, beating goalkeeper Luca Zidane to draw level with Gerd Muller and Kylian Mbappe on 14 goals. In the 60th minute, Messi netted his second goal by capitalizing on a rebound from an Alexis Mac Allister shot to match Brazil's Ronaldo on 15 goals. He completed the first World Cup hat-trick of his career in the 76th minute with a low finish from the edge of the penalty box, cementing his place alongside Klose before being substituted to a standing ovation four minutes later.
In Group I, former world champions France also began their tournament on a winning note with a 3-1 victory over Senegal. Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe scored twice during the encounter, overtaking Olivier Giroud to become the all-time leading top scorer for France with 58 goals in 99 international matches. Reacting to the performance, France head coach Didier Deschamps praised the forward while addressing his critics. Deschamps stated, “There are still people out there who will criticise him, but he is an extraordinary player,” He added, “Not everything came off for him, but he can win games in one moment.” The coach expressed his satisfaction with the record-breaking feat, noting, “I am really pleased for him. He didn’t score in the warm-up friendly games, but to break the record at the World Cup gives it more impact,”
Meanwhile, Manchester City striker Erling Haaland enjoyed a remarkable World Cup finals debut, scoring a brace to power Norway to a 4-1 victory against Iraq in another Group I fixture in Foxborough. Haaland found the net from close range in the 29th minute before Iraq equalized through a header from Aymen Hussein. The Norwegian forward capitalised on a defensive blunder just before the half-time whistle to restore his side's lead, bringing his spectacular international tally to 57 goals in 51 games. Substitutes Leo Ostigard and an own goal by Hussein completed the rout for Norway. Expressing his delight after the match, Norway head coach Stale Solbakken remarked, “You could see that he adapted to the occasion; the occasion wasn’t too big for him,” Solbakken added, “I had a good feeling before the game. I had quite a comfortable feeling that he would do it for us today.”
The opening round of matches continues to deliver high-scoring entertainment across the tournament, with debutants Jordan scheduled to face Austria in the late Group J fixture in Santa Clara, California.
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