Lionel Messi Equals Another Historic Record By Scoring a Hat-trick in Argentina's Win Over Algeria

Today's matchday of the 2026 World Cup is a historic one, as two players have cemented themselves even further as one of the World Cup greats.

Kylian Mbappe scored a brace for France against Senegal, which means he now has 14 World Cup goals in his career. He is two goals away from equaling the top goalscorer World Cup record, which is 16 goals from Germany's Miroslav Klose.

But now, that record also belongs to Lionel Messi, who scored a hat trick today against Algeria and has reached 16 World Cup goals. This is the first time Messi has scored a hat trick in a World Cup.

Messi has tied Klose's record for most World Cup goals, but he has yet to break the record. Messi is now one goal away from becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cups.

Messi was taken off in the 80th minute and will likely play the next group stage game against Austria on June 22, 2026. That match will be played at Dallas Stadium.

Messi overtook Gerd Müller, Ronaldo Nazario, and Kylian Mbappe with his three goals today for Argentina against Algeria.

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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 7:48 PM.