What is the story about?
The
reigning World Cup champions made a triumphant start to their title defense thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win over Algeria at the Kansas City Stadium in Tuesday’s Group J opener. The story of the game was Lionel Messi, who offered another reminder of his greatness with a sensational hat-trick to equal Miroslav Klose’s record as the World Cup’s all-time goalscorer with 16, and the GOAT proved he can still be better than anyone at the age of 38.
Reactions & Observations
- Argentina’s overall performance was not exactly brilliant, but it didn’t need to be: Lionel Scaloni’s side managed the game very well, knowing exactly when to sit back and when to increase the pace, and all they needed to do was get the ball to the GOAT.
- Lionel Messi’s performance is almost hard to put into words: the hat-trick in itself is brilliant, the history made by tying Miroslav Klose’s record is momentous, but the way he controlled the entire match with every touch was simply astounding. He was by far the best player on the pitch, and looked like the very best player in the world at the age of 38 on the same day that Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland looked pretty good too. Extraordinary.
- The Albiceleste’s title defense starts in impressive fashion, and showed that this team will be incredibly dangerous without the pressure of having to win a World Cup. Messi looked free, 100% healthy and as lethal as ever in front of goal, and the entire team around him worked as hard as possible to get him the ball in a position to decide the game. And decide he did.
- There will never, ever, ever be anything like Lionel Messi. What a privilege it is to watch this man.
