Missouri: Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni expressed confidence after Lionel Messi guided the defending champions to a 3-0 win over Algeria with a sensational hat-trick in their campaign opener at the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Tuesday (local time), as per Reuters.
Scaloni warns against complacency
Scaloni also warned against complacency despite the victory, saying Argentina know any team can beat them if they become overconfident. However, he also expressed confidence that Argentina will be difficult to beat if they continue performing well.
"This team knows that anyone can beat us. If you get a little overconfident, any opponent can win. In this World Cup, strange and difficult things are happening. If we do things right it will be hard to beat us," Scaloni said as quoted by Reuters.
Upcoming matches for Argentina
Argentina will next face Austria on June 21 and then Jordan on June 27. Scaloni said there is still a long journey ahead in the tournament, but added that starting with a win is important as it boosts the team's confidence and momentum.
"There is a long way to go to try to reach the end. But it is always good to start by winning; that undoubtedly strengthens everything," he said.
Messi's record-breaking performance
Coming to the match, Messi put up a standout performance as he, with the hat-trick, registered his name in the record books for multiple accolades, the most notable being for the joint-most goals in World Cup history. Messi is now tied with Germany's Miroslav Klose on 16 goals in FIFA World Cup history.
He also moved past Brazil's Ronaldo (15 goals), as well as Germany's Gerd Muller and France's Kylian Mbappe, who were both on 14 goals. Notably, Mbappe had earlier equalled Muller's tally with a brace in France's 3-1 win over Senegal earlier in the day.
Messi sets age-related milestones
At 38 years and 357 days, Messi has become the oldest player in men's World Cup history to register both a brace and a hat-trick. In the process, he surpassed Ronaldo to become the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick, overtaking Ronaldo's record set at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, where he famously netted a hat-trick against Spain at the age of 33, according to Fox Sports.
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