Lionel Messi pulls off ultra-rare World Cup feat with Inter Miami teammate

It is sometimes hard to fathom that Lionel Messi is already 38 years of age considering how brilliant he remains on the pitch. This was ever so apparent on Tuesday night after Messi scored a hat trick in Argentina’s opening group stage game in the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Algeria — tying the all-time record for goals scored in the competition, with 16. This was also Messi’s first-ever hat trick in the World Cup, making mincemeat of an overmatched Algeria defense in a 3-0 win for the reigning champions.

Messi got the ball rolling with a goal in the 17th minute, as he uncorked a strike from outside the box, which Algerian goalkeeper Luca Zidane was unable to parry away. This goal of his came off of an assists from midfielder Rodrigo de Paul, a close friend of Messi’s who plays alongside him in club football for Inter Miami.

With that assist from de Paul to Messi, the duo became just the fifth pair of MLS teammates to combine for a goal in FIFA World Cup history, as per OptaJack on X (formerly Twitter). The four previous duos to accomplish the feat all did so for the United States men’s national team, which means that the Argentinian duo is the first non-American pair to notch this achievement.

Messi is a hero in the eyes of all Argentinians, and de Paul has certainly taken his role as Messi’s protector and confidante to heart. de Paul is the engine of this Argentina midfield, and it’s clear that his all-around contributions are ever so important for the team’s bid to repeat as World Cup champion.

As for Messi, he looks ageless as ever, as he dominated Algeria as the orchestrator of Argentina’s attack. While it’s improbable for him to sustain this incredible scoring pace, him being this dominant right off the bat means that the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Lautaro Martinez, and Julian Alvarez, just to name a few, should have even more space to work with moving forward.

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