2026 World Cup: Lionel Messi surpasses Cristiano Ronaldo

Messi sets a new record at the 2026 World Cup

World Cup 2026 17 June 2026 at 09:25

Add Foot Africa on Google

2026 World Cup: Lionel Messi surpasses Cristiano Ronaldo

16.06.26 FT World Cup

Argentina

Algeria

Once again, Lionel Messi dazzled the world. The Argentine superstar bagged a hat-trick against Algeria in his opening match at the 2026 World Cup.

Lionel Messi broke another record on Wednesday after netting a treble for Argentina against Algeria (3-0) at the 2026 World Cup. Until now, Cristiano Ronaldo held the record as the oldest player to score a hat-trick in World Cup history.

But now, the Portuguese legend is no longer the oldest to achieve a World Cup hat-trick. The former Real Madrid star had struck three times against Spain (3-3) in 2018 at the age of 33 years and 122 days.

❤️‍🩹 Leo Messi: “I cried after the first goal, yes… but it was something completely unrelated to football”.

“I went through some difficult days, but I’m grateful to the entire delegation and my teammates because they were always by my side, giving me a lot of strength”. pic.twitter.com/HMJXmnvDtl
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 17, 2026

At 38 years and 357 days old, Messi now claims this record—and he may soon topple an even more prestigious one: Miroslav Klose’s tally of 16 World Cup goals, which Messi has just equaled.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.