Lionel Messi Leaves Algeria Defender Speechless After World Cup Hat Trick We Tried To Stop Him But It Didnt Work
Hindustan Times
Algerian defender Aissa Mandi hailed Lionel Messi after the Argentine's sensational performance on Wednesday. The fans in Kansas City were blessed by one of the greatest of all time as Messi scored a stunning hat-trick in Argentina's 2026 FIFA World Cup opener
. Whatever the opposition tried, Messi just ended up outfoxing them with ease. Facing Algeria in Group J, Messi almost scored a goal in the opening stages, but it was ruled offside.
A few minutes later, Argentina were reminded of their 2022 opening defeat to Saudi Arabia, as Fares Chaibi initially thought he had opened the scoring, only for that to be ruled offside.
The Argentina skipper opened the scoring in the 17th minute, receiving a sensational through ball from Rodrigo De Paul, as he slipped in a perfect pass through the Algerian midfield. The Inter Miami star unleashed a rocket from about 25 yards out, which nicked off the goalkeeper's fingertips and into the top-right corner.
He got his second goal in the 60th minute when the Algerian goalkeeper spilt Alexis Mac Allister's long-range effort. It dropped for Messi, and he slotted it past the goalkeeper with ease. In the 76th minute, he completed his hat-trick with another piledriver of a shot, assisted by substitute Nico Gonzalez.
Speaking after the match, Mandi said, "What makes the difference is they have a player who doesn’t forgive."
"Almost every chance ends up in the back of the net.
"He’s a player, maybe the best player of all time, so that’s his efficiency, and it’s formidable. We knew it, we tried to limit him as much as possible, but it didn’t work," he added.
Messi also drew level with Germany's Miroslav Klose with 16 World Cup goals as joint-World Cup top scorers. He also became the oldest player to get a World Cup hat-trick, exactly 20 years to the day since his first WC goal. He also went past Brazil's Ronaldo's World Cup tally of 15 goals.
Speaking after the match, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said, "This team knows that anyone can beat us. If you get a little overconfident, any opponent can win. In this World Cup, strange and difficult things are happening. If we do things right, it will be hard to beat us."
"There is a long way to go to try to reach the end. But it is always good to start by winning; that undoubtedly strengthens everything."