emirates7 - Lionel Messi earned a spot in the World Cup history books with a hat-trick that saw Argentina begin the defence of ​their title with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Algeria on Tuesday.

Messi became the tournament’s joint all-time leading scorer as he advanced ‌to ⁠a total of 16 goals, equalling ‌the record held by ⁠Miroslav Klose of Germany.

The ​opening game ⁠in Group J saw another masterclass ⁠from the Argentina captain, who turns ⁠39 later this month and was marking his 200th cap ⁠for his ​country as ⁠he became the first player to compete at six World Cups.

He got his goalscoring spree underway with a 17th-minute strike ​from the ‌edge of the penalty area, followed ​by a tap-in on the hour mark, ​and the hat-trick was completed ⁠in the 76th minute with a precise shot into ​the corner of the ⁠net.