Algeria takes over from Nigeria as Messi's top African target

Nigeria’s Super Eagles are no longer the African team that has conceded the most goals to Lionel Messi. Algeria has taken that spot after Messi scored a hat-trick in Kansas City on Tuesday.

Messi scored all three goals as Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 in their first match of Group J. This win not only gave Argentina a strong start to defend their title but also pushed Algeria ahead of Nigeria on Messi’s scoring list against African teams.

Before this match, Messi had scored three goals in four games against Nigeria, all during World Cup matches. But after this latest treble, he has now scored five goals against Algeria in just two games. This makes Algeria the African team he has scored against the most in his career.

The match in Kansas City was filled with excitement from the beginning. Messi thought he had scored an early goal in the fifth minute, but VAR ruled it out for offside. Algeria also had a goal by Farès Chaïbi disallowed for offside.

Argentina finally scored in the seventeenth minute. Rodrigo De Paul passed to Messi outside the box, and Messi curled a left-footed shot from twenty-five yards into the top corner. He scored again on the hour mark when he capitalized on a mistake by goalkeeper Luca Zidane after an attempt from Alexis Mac Allister.

Messi completed his hat-trick in the seventy-sixth minute with a classic finish after linking up with Mac Allister. Messi’s first game against Algeria was back in June 2007. He scored twice as a 19-year-old in a 4-3 friendly win at Camp Nou. Now, nineteen years later, his World Cup hat-trick in Kansas City has taken his tally against Algeria to five goals from just two matches.

This surpasses his record against Nigeria, where he played four times without scoring more than two goals in a single match. The hat-trick also marked several milestones for Messi. He tied with Germany’s Miroslav Klose for the most World Cup goals at sixteen, broke Pelé’s record for total World Cup contributions, and became the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick at thirty-eight years old. This achievement came exactly twenty years after he scored his first World Cup goal against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006.

With this victory, Argentina tops Group J and prepares to face Austria next in North Texas. Meanwhile, Nigeria, which is not participating in this year’s tournament, must now accept that they have passed on an unwanted record to their North African rivals.