Lionel Messi pulled out all of his tricks for his 2026 FIFA World Cup debut on Tuesday.
Messi scored a hat trick in Argentina‘s 3-0 victory over Algeria in a game where he became the first player to take the pitch in six different men’s World Cups. He is now the oldest player to score three goals in a game at the tournament.
It marked Messi’s first hat trick in the World Cup and the 11th in his international career. He also tied Miroslav Klose for the most goals in men’s FIFA World Cup history with 16. Argentina’s next match is against Austria in Dallas on Monday.
The standout performance from the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner captivated the heavily pro-Argentina crowd in Kansas City. However, the online sports world was equally enthralled by Messi’s magical night, chiming in on social media.
Here are the top reactions to Messi’s hat trick.
Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, were in attendance for Argentina’s opener. Mahomes posted a single emoji of a goat following Messi’s second goal, before posting three emojis following his third.
The three-time Super Bowl winner led reactions to the big game, while Washington Wizards star Trae Young and former British soccer stars Rio Ferdinand and Alan Shearer also chimed in.
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🐐🐐🐐
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) June 17, 2026
🐐
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) June 17, 2026
🐐 Messi
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) June 17, 2026
Wow Messi!!!
His first ever Hattrick at a World Cup… and now officially ties the record for the most ever World Cup goals! #FIFAWorldCup #Messi— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) June 17, 2026
OMG. MESSI 16th goal in the World Cup. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 #ARGALG #
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) June 17, 2026
Messi is Gods gift to the beautiful game 🙏🏾
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— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) June 17, 2026
Messi is playing with complete freedom. He’s already achieved the ultimate goal by winning the World Cup, and that makes him even more dangerous this tournament. No pressure or expectations to live up to-just pure football. Enjoy every moment while we still can. There’s simply no…
— Carli Lloyd (@CarliLloyd) June 17, 2026
Messi is absolutely insane!
— Derek Carr (@derekcarrqb) June 17, 2026
3 goals Messi WOWWWZZEERRRSS #fifaworldcup
— Dion Dawkins (@DDawkins66) June 17, 2026
🐐🐐🐐
— Zach Ertz (@ZERTZ_86) June 17, 2026
A HAT TRICK! pic.twitter.com/WOo4Ek1Bwi
— Trey Smith (@treysmith) June 17, 2026
