KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lionel Messi recorded his first World Cup hat trick and moved into a tie for first on the tournament's career scoring list Tuesday night, leading defending champion Argentina to a dominant 3-0 victory over Algeria in its group-stage opener.
Messi scored his first goal in the opening minutes off a clever pass from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, added the second early in the second half, and netted the third just before being substituted to a standing ovation from a heavily pro-Argentina crowd.
The goals came 20 years to the day after Messi made his World Cup debut for Argentina against Serbia and Montenegro — he also scored in that match — and gave him 16 career World Cup goals, tying Germany's Miroslav Klose for the all-time record.
The victory helped Argentina start the tournament better than four years ago in Qatar, when they lost to Saudi Arabia in their opening match before rallying to win the title. Messi showed no signs of the mild hamstring injury that had worried fans, nearly scoring twice more. One goal was disallowed for a marginal offside call, and another strike cleared the crossbar.
Messi also contributed defensively, helping lock down the overmatched Algerian side. Algeria's best chance came early when Fares Chaibi's goal was ruled out by VAR for offside. Messi scored moments later, and the rest of the night belonged to him and Argentina.
The match at Arrowhead Stadium fulfilled the longtime dream of the late Lamar Hunt, who founded the NFL franchise that plays there and was instrumental in soccer's growth in the U.S. from the 1960s through the early 2000s. Hunt played a key role in the U.S. hosting the 1994 World Cup, and his sons Clark and Dan are doing the same with this edition.
Among the crowd on a picture-perfect night were Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany. Mahomes traded his usual red-and-yellow football uniform for a blue sweatsuit and white shirt.
Argentina continues its pursuit of back-to-back World Cup titles in Arlington, Texas, against Austria on Monday and Jordan on June 27. Algeria faces Jordan on Monday in Santa Clara, California, before playing Austria in its Group J finale on June 27 back in Kansas City.
