- Lionel Messi is now the all-time men's World Cup top scorer with 18 goals — he broke Miroslav Klose’s mark and also surpassed Marta’s overall World Cup tally after a hat trick vs Algeria and goals vs Austria.
- At nearly 39 and playing a record sixth World Cup (alongside Cristiano Ronaldo), Messi has five goals in his first two matches and became the oldest male to score a World Cup hat trick.
- True to form, he produced theatrical moments — missing a penalty but later scoring, plus trademark left‑foot strikes and clutch finishes that felt historically poetic for Argentina.
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