Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Argentina opened the defence of their World Cup title with a victory over Algeria on Wednesday, equalling Miroslav Klose’s all-time men’s tournament scoring record in the process.

The three goals took the 38-year-old Argentina captain to 16 World Cup goals, drawing him level with Germany’s Klose as the joint leading scorer in the history of the men’s competition. It was Messi’s first World Cup hat-trick, making him the oldest player to achieve the feat at 38 years and 357 days, surpassing the previous mark held by Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. He also became the oldest player to score two or more goals in a World Cup match.

Messi also became the first footballer to appear at six separate World Cup tournaments. The match coincided with the 20th anniversary of his World Cup debut and first goal, scored against Serbia and Montenegro on June 16, 2006.

The performance carried Messi past Brazil’s Pelé for total World Cup goal contributions. His combined tally of 16 goals and eight assists now stands at 24, three ahead of Pelé’s 21. He also became only the second man, after Ronaldo, to score in five different editions of the World Cup.

One of his goals against Algeria came from outside the penalty area, his fifth long-range goal at the tournament. That drew him level with Brazil’s Rivellino for the most goals from outside the box in World Cup history over the past 60 years.

Messi has now scored in five consecutive World Cup matches, dating back to the 2022 tournament. One more scoring appearance would see him match the record of six straight scoring appearances held by France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho. He is the first Argentine to score in five successive World Cup games.

The match was Messi’s 200th international appearance. He is the first South American and the third player globally to reach the milestone.