Lionel Messi equals Miroslav Klose World Cup record, sets new hat-trick bar to inspire Argentina to victory over Algeria

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Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick against Algeria to become the joint-top scorer in World Cup finals history, pulling level with Germany's Miroslav Klose on 16 goals.

'It's just a statistic' - Messi plays down matching Klose's World Cup record

Video credit: SNTV

The Argentina legend is also now the oldest man to score a treble at the World Cup, with his 39th birthday a week away.

Messi looked a man on a mission from the off in the defending champions' Group J opener - on what was his 200th cap - seeing an early effort ruled out for offside.

Moments later, he opened the scoring with a superb, trademark strike from outside the area. He added a second after the break by pouncing quickly after Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane spilled a shot from distance.

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He completed his hat-trick - the first of his career at the World Cup - with another goal from the edge of the box, this time low. The 3-0 win was sealed as Messi delivered a masterclass.

The Inter Miami superstar became the first player to feature at six tournaments, with his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo poised to join him on Wednesday when Portugal face Uzbekistan.

Messi also pulled level with Ronaldo by scoring in his fifth World Cup, though the Portuguese has the chance to reclaim that record outright over the coming weeks.

Messi's debut World Cup goal came in Germany in 2006, before he blanked in South Africa four years later as Argentina faltered.

La Albiceleste reached the final at Brazil 2014, Messi driving them to the showpiece with four goals. One more came in Russia.

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At Qatar 2022, Messi cemented his international legacy with seven goals en route to lifting the trophy and adding the long-awaited third star to Argentina's shirt.

That placed him three behind Klose's 16 goals for Germany on the sport's biggest stage, but Messi is now level.

Klose himself took the record from Brazilian great Ronaldo. His first five came in South Korea and Japan in 2002, and he then matched that tally on home soil.

A further four came in 2010, before the record-setting goals came in Ronaldo's own nation, en route to Germany winning the trophy.

In joint-fourth place in the rankings are Gerd Muller and now Kylian Mbappe, following the France striker's brilliant brace against Senegal in their World Cup opener.

Messi plays down record

Lionel Messi reacts after scoring his first goal

Image credit: Getty Images

Though the football world is raving about Messi's magic, the man himself has almost dismissed his special night.

He told TyC: "Honestly, no [I don't attach importance to the record]. It's an honour to be there because of what it means to be there next to Klose, Ronaldo is there too, but I don't think it means anything.

"Mbappe is there, he scored two today. It's a statistic and nothing more. While it's an honour to be able to compete with all of them, it doesn't mean anything to me.

"Ronaldo, from what I saw, was one of the greatest and he's not in first place, so it all comes down to a statistic."

Messi was seen crying after the first goal of the night, but has revealed this emotion was nothing to do with the game, and instead in response to a personal matter.

He said: "Honestly, completely unrelated to the sport, I went through some difficult, complicated days.

"I'm grateful to the entire delegation, to my team-mates. They were always there for me, as always. They gave me a lot of strength to get through this, and that's all."

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