Lionel Messi registered his first World Cup hat trick while moving into a tie for first on the tournament's career scoring list Tuesday night, sending defending champion Argentina to a dominant 3-0 victory over Algeria in its group-stage opener.

Controversy over alleged preferential refereeing toward Lionel Messi and Argentina is growing as the 2026 FIFA World Cup enters its final stretch, with Egypt an

Lionel Messi scores three as Argentina beats Algeria, after Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway beat Iraq 4-1 in Boston and Kylian Mbappé's super strike sunk Senegal.