Messi‘s outstanding hat-trick against Algeria also put him on par with Miroslav Klose of Germany as the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer (16), surpassing Brazilian icon Ronaldo (15) to become the highest-scoring South American at the international showcase.

After the skipper netted a hat-trick in a 3-0 victory over Algeria in their World Cup Group J opener on Tuesday, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said Lionel Messi continues to surprise his teammates.

It is difficult to explain. Despite seeing him every day, we continue to be in awe of him. He has been at his best for two decades and continues to perform in every game. According to a Xinhua story, Scaloni told reporters following the game, “You don’t have to be an Argentina fan to appreciate what he’s done at his age. ”

Messi’s effect went beyond his on-field efforts, fostering a positive atmosphere around the team, according to Scaloni.

Scaloni added, “I could spend an hour talking about him here, but you have to be present to really appreciate the ambiance he fosters. ” He continued by saying that since his career will one day end, we should make the most of it while we still can.

Furthermore, at 38 years and 357 days, Messi has achieved the record for being the oldest hat-trick scorer in the history of the World Cup. He surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo‘s previous record, who was 33 years and 130 days old when he scored a hat-trick against Spain in 2018.

Messi is the only footballer to have played in six World Cups in the history of the sport. Later on Wednesday, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal is scheduled to share this achievement. Antonio Carbajal, Lothar Matthäus, Rafa Márquez, and Andrés Guardado previously shared the record.

Additionally, after Algeria’s intense pressure caused Argentina problems in the first half, the coach complimented his team’s versatility. Scaloni stated that Algeria caused us problems today. We were forced to retaliate after they did. That’s not typically our trademark, but we succeeded in doing it and coming through.

Despite Argentina’s strong start to the competition, Scaloni issued a warning against being overly confident.

On June 27, the Albiceleste will play Jordan in the same stadium and Austria at Dallas Stadium. According to him, this squad recognizes that anybody may defeat them.

He concluded that it would be hard for other teams to defeat us if we perform what we must and play as we did today.