Lionel Messi scores three as Argentina beat Algeria

scored all three goals for Argentina and is central to Argentina's attack

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team.

defending champion that beat Algeria 3-0 in World Cup Group J

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the Southern Cone of South America. It covers an area of 2,780,085 km2 (1,073,397 mi2), making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world.

lost 3-0 to Argentina and must win points in later group games

Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. Spanning over 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), it is the largest country in Africa and the tenth largest in the world.

city where the match was played

Kansas City, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by both population and area. It is located on the Missouri River at its confluence with the Kansas River, within Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass counties. It is the 37th-most populous city in the United States and sixth-most populous city in the Midwest, with a population of 508,090 at the 2020 census.

former men's World Cup scoring record holder whom Messi drew level with

Miroslav Josef Klose is a professional football manager and former player who is head coach of 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg. Born in Poland, Klose played as a striker for the Germany national team.

team included in Group J

Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, of which the capital Vienna is the most populous city and state. Austria is bordered by Germany to the northwest, the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the northeast, Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west.

Algeria performer involved in bright moments including a disallowed goal

Ibrahim Maza is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. Born in Germany, he plays for the Algeria national team.

coach of the Algeria side that left with no points

Vladimir Petković is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He last served as the coach of the Algeria national team. He was previously manager of French side Bordeaux, the Switzerland national team, a string of Swiss clubs, Turkish club Samsunspor, and Italian club Lazio.

football tournament in which the match took place

The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition among the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 during and shortly after World War II.

birthplace of Lionel Messi

Rosario, officially the Autonomous City of Rosario, is a city in central Argentina, in the south of the province of Santa Fe. Located 300 km (186 mi) northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, it is the country's third-most populous city after Buenos Aires and Córdoba. With a growing and important metropolitan area, Greater Rosario has an estimated population of 1,750,000 as of 2020.

club where Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul play

Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in Miami. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Since April 2026, Inter Miami plays home matches at Nu Stadium, having played at the interim Chase Stadium prior.

club associated with Ibrahim Maza

Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V., commonly known as Bayern Munich, FC Bayern or simply Bayern, is a professional sports club based in Munich, Germany. They are most known for their men's professional football team, who play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system.

Argentina head coach who built the 2022 title-winning side

Lionel Sebastián Scaloni is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of the Argentina national team. He is also an Italian citizen. Under his leadership, Argentina won the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Scaloni is regarded as one of the best national coaches in the world. A versatile player throughout his career as a footballer, he operated as a right-back or right midfielder.

Argentina midfielder who supplied one of the attacking links

Rodrigo Javier De Paul is an Argentine professional football player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team.

Missouri venue that hosted the match

Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL), and has also hosted other soccer games and college football games for regional teams. Arrowhead Stadium hosted multiple matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

state where Kansas City Stadium is located

Missouri is a landlocked state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it borders Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to the south and Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska to the west. With over six million residents, it is the 19th-most populous state of the country. The largest urban areas are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia. The capital is Jefferson City.

league associated with the Chiefs at Kansas City Stadium

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world.

NFL team associated with Kansas City Stadium

The Chiefs are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, Waikato. The team competes in the Super Rugby Pacific competition, previously known as the Super 12 and Super 14, and are one of the competition's five New Zealand teams. Their primary home ground is FMG Stadium Waikato.

World Cup pool containing Argentina, Algeria, Austria and Jordan

records tournament history and historical scoring records

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is an international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, its membership now comprises 211 national associations.

team Messi scored against on 16 June 2006

The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and commonly referred to as Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The state was established on 27 April 1992 as a federation comprising the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro.

team involved in the controversial 1982 final group match with Austria

West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It was sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital city of Bonn, or as the Second German Republic. During the Cold War, the western portion of Germany and the associated territory of West Berlin were parts of the Western Bloc.