Lionel Messi: Decoding his stats and records in Argentina colors
What's the story
Lionel Messi stole the show in Argentina's FIFA World Cup 2026 opener against Algeria, scoring a stunning hat-trick and leading his team to a 3-0 victory. The match was a masterclass from the 38-year-old superstar who dominated every aspect of play. This was Messi's first-ever hat-trick at the FIFA World Cup and it drew him level with Germany's Miroslav Klose on 16 tournament goals. Here we decode his stats and records in Argentina colors.
Milestones
Joint-highest scorer in World Cup history
Messi's hat-trick against Algeria saw him equal Klose's record of 16 goals at the World Cup. Messi took 27 matches to reach 16 World Cup goals. Klose did it in 24 matches. With this hat-trick, Messi surpassed France's Just Fontaine (13), Kylian Mbappe (14), Germany's Gerd Muller (14) and Brazil's Ronaldo (15) in terms of World Cup goals.
World Cup
Messi is appearing in his 6th World Cup
Messi is appearing in his 6th World Cup. He played in the 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 editions respectively. He was a runner-up in 2014 and then won the 2022 edition. With 27 appearances, Messi is the highest capped player in the tournament's history. Besides his 16 goals, he also owns 8 assists. He won the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball in 2014, 2022 and FIFA World Cup Silver Boot in 2022.
Information
Breaking down Messi's World Cup goals tournament wise
Messi scored a goal in his World Cup tournament debut in 2006. After firing blanks in 2010, he scored 4 times in 2014. In 2018, Messi managed one goal. He had a dream 2022 World Cup campaign, scoring 7 times. And now, he already has 3 goals at FIFA World Cup 2026.
Do you know?
Oldest player with this World Cup record
As per Squawka, Messi became the oldest player to score multiple goals in a World Cup match at 38 years and 357 days old, surpassing the record previously held by Roger Milla (38y, 34d). Messi has also scored more World Cup goals than any other player after turning 35 (10).
Do you know?
Messi's game in numbers versus Algeria
Messi made 57 touches against Algeria and completed 30 passes from 37 attempted. He made 7 final 1/3 entries. From 6 shots, 4 were on target. He also had 4 touches in the opposition box. Messi won 3 duels and made 3 ball recoveries. He also created two chances.
Overall
200 matches, 120 goals, 11 hat-tricks and 61 assists
Notably, the Algeria match was Messi's 200th for Argentina. He is now the 3rd player to complete 200 games for a nation after Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (228) and Kuwait's Bader Al-Mutawa (202). Messi has scored 120 goals for Argentina across all competitions. He owns 50-plus goals (52) in FIFA World Cup qualifying games and the main tournament combined. Messi also recorded his 11th hat-trick for Argentina. Meanwhile, apart from his 120 goals, he has made 61 assists.
Do you know?
Messi has enjoyed scoring against these nations
Messi has scored his most number of international goals against Bolivia (11). Against Ecuador and Venezuela, he has scored 7 goals each. He has managed another six goals versus Uruguay. Messi now has 5 goals against Algeria, equaling his tally versus Brazil, Chile, Estonia, Guatemala and Paraguay.