Messi hat trick lifts Argentina past Algeria 3-0 at World Cup
What's new: The three goals drew Messi level with Miroslav Klose atop the men's World Cup scoring list and pushed Argentina near the knockout stage.
Lionel Messi scored all three goals as Argentina opened its World Cup title defense with a 3-0 win over Algeria on Tuesday, moving the defending champions close to the knockout round. The hat trick pulled Messi level with Miroslav Klose as the men's all-time leading World Cup scorer. Messi reached the mark 20 years after his first World Cup goal for Argentina, and he also became the country's oldest scorer at the tournament, topping Martín Palermo's previous record. Algeria briefly threatened through a move involving Ibrahim Maza, but its first goal was ruled out. After the match, Maza summed up the challenge of facing Messi in two words: "Messi things."