Messi's first World Cup hat-trick fires holders Argentina past Algeria

Argentina began the defence of their crown exactly as they had hoped, sweeping past Algeria 3-0 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City thanks to a virtuoso display from Lionel Messi. On his 200th cap, the 38-year-old produced his first hat-trick in World Cup history to leave the Group J favourites top of the table after matchday one.

Messi makes history

Messi opened the scoring in the 17th minute and, after a tight first half, killed the contest with strikes in the 60th and 76th minutes. The treble moved him level with Germany's Miroslav Klose on 16 goals at the top of the all-time World Cup scoring charts, and came 20 years to the day after his tournament debut as a substitute at Germany 2006.

Algeria contained

Algeria, back at a World Cup after missing the last two editions, started brightly but could not contain Messi once the holders found their rhythm. The Desert Foxes failed to register a goal and now face a difficult task to recover, with games against Jordan and Austria to come.

For Argentina, it was the perfect statement of intent. Lionel Scaloni's side looked composed and clinical, and with Messi in this kind of form the rest of Group J have been put firmly on notice.