World Cup 2026: Argentina vs Algeria - Defending Champions Opener, June 16
Argentina 3–0 Algeria (June 16, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City), Lionel Messi scored a historic hat-trick (17', 60', 76'), tying Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup goals record with 16 goals, in his 200th Argentina appearance. The defending champions opened Group J in emphatic fashion.
The context
Defending champions Argentina open their 2026 World Cup group campaign against Algeria on the evening of June 16 at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, a night that carries the emotional weight of a beginning and an end simultaneously. For Lionel Messi, 38 years old and competing in his sixth World Cup, each match from here may be among his last on the biggest stage in football. For Argentina, the mission is clear: become the first nation since Brazil (1958, 1962) to win back-to-back World Cups.
Manager Lionel Scaloni has built a remarkably settled side around the 2022 winning nucleus. Lautaro Martínez and Julián Álvarez lead the attack ahead of Messi; Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernández provide the midfield engine; and Emiliano Martínez stands as one of the world’s finest goalkeepers. Experience, cohesion and a winning mentality are Argentina’s greatest assets heading into a tournament they enter as title holders.
Algeria return to the World Cup stage after missing 2018 and 2022, itself a significant accomplishment after two painful exits from qualification. Their last World Cup appearance in 2014 delivered a dramatic run to the Round of 16, where they pushed Germany to extra time before falling 2-1. No one expects them to contain Messi for 90 minutes, but the 2026 tournament has already shown, with Germany’s 7-1 demolition of Curaçao underscoring the gulf in class between tiers, that preparation and organisation matter at least as much as individual talent. Kansas City will be an ocean of Albiceleste blue and white, but the defending champions have been put on notice: 48 teams want their crown.
Result (June 16, 2026): Argentina won 3–0. Messi opened in the 17th minute with a long-range strike, doubled the lead on 60 minutes with a tap-in, then curled a precise effort into the bottom corner in the 76th to complete the first World Cup hat-trick of his career. His 16 goals tied Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup scoring record, on his 200th Argentina cap. Julián Álvarez and the midfield were dominant throughout. The defending champions look every bit capable of going back-to-back.