Messi Breaks Ronaldo's World Cup Hat-Trick Record

Messi rewrites the record books again. This time, he takes one straight off Cristiano Ronaldo.

On a warm Tuesday night in Kansas City, with the 2026 World Cup finally roaring into life, the Argentina captain stepped onto the pitch against Algeria and turned a group-stage opener into another chapter of his personal mythology. Three chances, three goals, one more record gone.

Messi, 38, takes Ronaldo’s World Cup hat-trick mark

The numbers are stark. At 38 years and 357 days, Lionel Messi is now the oldest player ever to score a World Cup hat-trick, surpassing the mark set by Ronaldo in 2018. The Portuguese forward, then 33 years and 130 days old, had lit up Russia with a treble against Spain.

Eight years on, Messi has pushed that bar higher.

Against Algeria, he didn’t just guide Argentina through a potentially awkward first step. He carried them. Every goal on the night belonged to him, every roar inside a sold-out Kansas City Stadium seemed to orbit around his left boot and his sense of timing. For a player supposedly entering the twilight, the spotlight still feels very much his.

Argentina take early control of Group J

The defending champions have landed in Group J alongside Austria, Jordan, and Algeria, a section they are widely expected to dominate. Performances like this justify the expectation.

Messi’s hat-trick delivered a 3–0 win and sent Argentina straight to the top of the standings with three points from their opening match. It also sent a message: the 2022 title was not a farewell; it was a foundation.

Next comes Austria on Monday, then Jordan five days later. Both games will be staged at Dallas Stadium, giving Argentina a temporary home base in Texas and Messi a consistent stage on which to extend his influence. Win those, and the group should be wrapped up with something to spare.

Ronaldo and Portugal prepare their answer

While Messi has already stamped his authority on this tournament, Ronaldo and Portugal are still waiting for their cue. Their campaign begins on Wednesday against the Democratic Republic of Congo at Miami Stadium, the first of three group fixtures that will test how much is left in Portugal’s veteran core.

Uzbekistan await on Tuesday, then Colombia on June 27 in what could become a decisive clash for top spot. For Ronaldo, still leading the line for his country after all these years, the path is clear: navigate this group, keep Portugal in the conversation, and try to drag his nation deep into the knockout rounds one more time.

Both icons share the same basic target. Finish at least second in their groups and join the 30 other qualifiers in the knockout stage. From there, the margins shrink, the pressure rises, and legacies—already towering—can still be nudged higher.

Champions under fire

No team arrives at this World Cup with a bigger target on its back than Argentina. They are the reigning champions, the side that broke France in a penalty shootout in 2022, the team that turned Messi’s lifelong pursuit of the trophy into a cathartic, global spectacle.

That status changes everything. Every opponent lifts their game. Every Argentina slip will be magnified. Every Messi touch will be judged against the standard he set in Qatar.

Yet here he is again, almost 39, opening another World Cup with a hat-trick and snatching a record from the only contemporary who truly shares his stage.

The debate about the greatest of all time will roll on. It always does. But on nights like this, under the lights in Kansas City, the argument feels less like a discussion and more like a scoreboard.