In Photos: Lionel Messi scores hat-trick, ties Klose’s all-time World Cup goal record

Lionel Messi marked his record sixth World Cup appearance with a hat-trick as Argentina cruised past Algeria in their Group I opener in Kansas City on Tuesday (Source: Photo by AP)

Lionel Messi in action. (FILE photo) (Source: Photo by AP)

Messi’s first goal came in the 17th minute, curling a left-footed shot past Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane (the son of French legend Zinedine Zidane) from open play outside the box (Source: Photo by AP)

The second goal came in a canter, after a teammate took a shot at goal, Zidane could not collect it and ended up sending it back into to play where Messi was at hand to seal the goal with a tap in (Source: Photo by AP)

Messi netted a record hat-trick in the 76th minute, where he clinically finished off some good build up play from his teammates (Source: Photo by AP)

Just over a minute after he had completed his first hat-trick in World Cup history, Messi was subbed off to a standing ovation (Source: Photo by AP)

The 38-year-old Messi edged out his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo to become the oldest man to net a World Cup hat-trick. Ronaldo acheived the feat in 2018 at 33 years old (Source: Photo by AP)

Messi also bagged his 11th hat-trick in the Argentine shirt, overhauling Ronaldo’s tally of 10 hat-tricks to record the most hat-trick in men’s international football (Source: Photo by AP)

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner also equalled Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the joint-highest scorer in World Cup history (Source: Photo by AP)

Messi’s latest hat-trick was the 61st hat-trick of his professional career, including club and country, five behind Ronaldo’s tally of 66 hat-tricks (Source: Photo by AP)