With his opening match hat-trick against Algeria in Argentina’s Group J encounter at Kansas City Stadium on Wednesday, World Cup winner Lionel Messi not only levelled with German Miroslav Klose for most goals in FIFA World Cup history with 16 goals but also became the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick. The 38-year-old Argentine star’s hat-trick came exactly 20 years after his FIFA World Cup debut when he came on as a substitute in a group match against Serbia and Montenegro in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Messi’s team-mate Rodrigo De Paul, who also assisted Messi in his first goal of the match, shared how Messi does not care for records and how Messi is enjoying his football without the pressure at present. ALSO READ | Messi, Messi, Messi: That familiar World Cup chant restarts after Argentina’s 3-0 win “I swear he doesn’t care. Sometimes we’ll be in a room drinking mate and we’ll tell him ‘hey man, you’re just one away or two away’ or whatever. And I swear he has no idea. I don’t know how that works. He’s an animal. What makes me the happiest is that I feel like he’s enjoying it. That he doesn’t feel the weight of the pressure that he felt for so long. Everyone knows his mentality. He doesn’t let himself enjoy things much because he’s always focused on helping us and the team. But I see him good now, I see him happy. That’s contagious among the group,” Rodrigo De Paul said after the match. Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and 2022 World Cup winner, started his 200th international match on Wednesday. The 38-year- old became only the third male player in the world after Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (228 matches) and Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa (200 matches) to play in 200 or more international matches. Messi’s hat-trick also meant that the Argentine is now simultaneously the oldest and youngest player to score for Argentina in the World Cup. The Argentine had scored a goal against Serbia and Montenegro in the 2006 World Cup at the age of 18 years and 358 days. Argentina’s head coach Lionel Scaloni kisses Argentina’s Lionel Messi. (FILE photo) De Paul shared how the Argentine team has the advantage of having Messi in their ranks and how Messi prioritizes the team. “It’s an advantage to have Leo because of how he handles the group and pushes it forward. Because of who he is. He doesn’t care about individual records, he prioritizes the group and for us, it’s incredible. We are here to compete, to keep training and the goal is always to arrive on the first day and leave on the last. Anything can happen but we always have to respect our idiosyncrasy and the values we hold.” De Paul added. Wednesday was also the first time that Argentina has won their opening match at a FIFA World Cup as defending champions after having suffered defeats in their opening match in 1982 and 1990 World Cups. Messi’s opening goal in the match against Algeria also made him the second player after Cristiano Ronaldo to score in five World Cups and Wednesday’s match also meant that Messi became the first player to play in six World Cups. Argentine head coach Lionel Scaloni too was all praise for Messi post the match. “There are no words; anything I say would be superfluous. It’s what he’s been doing for 20 years, it’s what the people of this sport want to see. He doesn’t give up on a single ball, that’s our style. That’s what we can take away from it” Scaloni said after the match.
‘I swear he doesn’t care’: Messi’s long-time team-mate on records being broken
