Algeria replace Nigeria as Messi’s record African victims

Lionel Messi's record-breaking hat-trick against Algeria has shifted the dynamic of his scoring history against African nations, with the Desert Warriors now surpassing Nigeria as his most prolific continental opponent.

In Argentina's opening Group J match of the tournament, Messi scored all three goals in a 3-0 victory over Algeria in Kansas City. This performance increased his tally against Algeria to five goals across just two matches, eclipsing his previous record against Nigeria, where he scored three goals in four appearances. Before Tuesday's match, Nigeria held the record for the most goals conceded against Messi by an African team.

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Messi scored all three goals as defending champions Argentina defeated Algeria 3-0 in their opening Group J match, with the result not only handing Lionel Scaloni’s side a perfect start to their title defence but also pushing Algeria above Nigeria on Messi’s all-time scoring chart against African nations.

The match itself was dramatic, with both Argentina and Algeria having goals disallowed by VAR for offside. Argentina eventually broke the deadlock in the 17th minute when Messi curled a left-footed shot from 25 yards into the top corner. He extended the lead in the 60th minute after a rebound from a long-range effort, and completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute with a well-placed finish.

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His latest treble, however, takes his tally against Algeria to five goals in just two matches, making the Desert Warriors the African nation he has punished most throughout his international career.

Messi's performance also marked several historic milestones. He equaled Germany's Miroslav Klose for the joint all-time record of sixteen World Cup goals. Additionally, he surpassed Pelé's long-standing mark for total World Cup goal contributions and became the oldest player, at 38, to score a World Cup hat-trick. This achievement came exactly twenty years after his first World Cup goal in 2006.

The win places Argentina at the top of Group J, with their next match scheduled against Austria. Meanwhile, Nigeria, absent from this year's tournament, must now contend with Algeria taking an unwanted scoring record from them.

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He moved level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose on sixteen World Cup goals, the joint all-time record, surpassed Pelé’s long-standing mark for total World Cup goal contributions, and became the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick at thirty-eight years of age, arriving exactly twenty years after his first World Cup goal against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006.