Lionel Messi’s hat trick leads Argentina to World Cup Group Stage victory over Algeria in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KQTV) - In front of a sold out crowd of over 69,000 people at Kansas City Stadium, Lionel Messi and Argentina put on a show to kick off the World Cup in KC. Messi finished with a hat trick of 3 goals as Argentina shut out Algeria, 3-0.

Messi at age 38 becomes the oldest player to have a hat trick in World Cup history, passing Christiano Ronaldo. Messi also ties Germany's Miroslav Klose for most World Cup goals scored in a career with 16.

"We are amazed with (Messi) still, although we get to see him on a daily basis, and he's been the best for 20 years, he still pulls it off every single match," said Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni. "You don't have to be an Argentinian fan to admire what he's done at age 38."

"We were up against a team that were beyond us. It would have been a huge upset had we taken points away from this game," said Algeria head coach Vladimir Petković. "The other two opponents in this group still need to face Argentina, so we still have our fate in our own hands, and we can ultimately decide our own fate."

Argentina will next face Austria on Monday, June 22nd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas at 12 pm. Algeria will next play Jordan on the 22nd at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California at 10 pm.

The second of the World Cup games played at Kansas City Stadium will be on Saturday, June 20th between Ecuador and Curacao at 7 p.m.