Fans seem to believe Lionel Messi channeled some of his inner Michael Jordan when it came to fueling his goal-hungry debut at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Messi scored all three goals in a 3-0 Argentina win Tuesday over Algeria to kick off la Albiceleste’s group stage at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The 38-year-old connected on a top-right screamer to open the scoring in the 17th minute. He added on with goals in the 60th and 76th minutes in a clinical start to his 6th World Cup campaign.
The hat-trick-clinching goal flew past five converging Algerian defenders who could only watch as Messi beat goalkeeper Luca Zidane for a third time.
All three of Leo Messi's goals in his first career FIFA World Cup hat trick pic.twitter.com/jb05ZWMrVU
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 17, 2026
Several fans felt that Messi took it personally when French striker Kylian Mbappe overtook him on the all-time World Cup goal scorers list. Mbappe scored two of Les Bleus’ three goals in a 3-1 victory over Senegal just hours before the Argentina-Algeria game kicked off.
The brace allowed Mbappe (14 career World Cup goals) to momentarily overtake Messi (13 goals before the Algeria match) and tie Gerd Muller for the third-most goals in World Cup history.
Messi really took this tweet personal https://t.co/slo3Lq4Esq
— BONER (@Beeg_Erv) June 17, 2026
Messi took this personal and responded with a hat trick. pic.twitter.com/ZpNrsH060p
— Arab (@arabian1901) June 17, 2026
Messi took this tweet personal https://t.co/7paHREY2YQ
— GBU🐐 (@GBU256) June 17, 2026
Leo Messi after Kylian Mbappe passed him for most goals scored at the World Cup https://t.co/LhiVDcAPjX pic.twitter.com/w4MVp6CSkh
— Covers (@Covers) June 17, 2026
Messi did more than pad his lead over Mbappe in emphatic fashion. The Argentine icon also tied German Miroslav Klose for the most goals scored in World Cup history at 16.
Messi also broke a tie with Pele for the most goal contributions (goals plus assists) in World Cup history. The two were deadlocked at 21 before Tuesday’s match.
While 27-year-old Mbappe will more than likely surpass Messi in World Cup goals soon enough, Messi’s greatness, even at his advanced age, cannot be overstated.
