Death, taxes, and Lionel Messi.
Just when you thought that Messi was finally done at 38 years old, he nonchalantly records a hat trick in the World Cup. He led Argentina past Algeria, 3-0, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday to get their first win in Group J.
Messi opened up the scoring with a long laser just 17 minutes into the match. Argentina, the top-ranked team in the world, kept pressing in the second half. Messi found the net again in the 60th minute before following it up with a third goal 16 minutes later.
Carli Lloyd, a legend of the US women’s football team, could not help but gush about the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“Messi is playing with complete freedom. He’s already achieved the ultimate goal by winning the World Cup, and that makes him even more dangerous this tournament,” wrote Lloyd on X.
“No pressure or expectations to live up to—just pure football. Enjoy every moment while we still can. There’s simply no one else like him.”
Argentina is hell-bent on defending its title in the World Cup, and the squad is off to a strong start, especially Messi, who is playing in his final edition of the quadrennial event.
He recorded his first-ever hat trick in the World Cup and tied Miroslav Klose of Germany for the most goals in tournament history with 16. He will likely set the new record in the coming days.
Aside from Lloyd, other sports figures also lauded Messi for his latest feat, including football icon Thierry Henry, NFL star Patrick Mahomes, ESPN’s Pat McAfee, and veteran commentator Skip Bayless, among others.
Argentina will face Austria on Monday.
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