After Argentina’s World Cup victory in Qatar, I have to confess — I was overwhelmed. For a moment, it felt like the world had clicked into place, and though sport isn’t always just, Lionel Messi and that Argentine side belonged at the top, cast in gold to shine for eternity.
Here we are in 2026, and Messi is still here — and his hat-trick wound the clock back for me, just a little, and I was moved all over again.
He became the oldest player in history to score at least 2 goals in a single World Cup match, and in doing so drew level with Miroslav Klose at the top of the all-time World Cup scoring charts with 16 goals. He turns 39 in a matter of days — and while I’m not entirely up to date with every MLS development, his speed and intensity in this match genuinely surprised me. Of course, the physical limits are visible by now, and yes, his defensive contribution and off-the-ball work need to be managed and compensated for — but what he gives in return in the attacking phase, with the ball at his feet: his passing, his bursts of movement, his vision on the pitch — all of it remains, to this day, utterly inimitable. There is no one better, at most someone we can mention in the same breath — but better? There is no one.
I have been watching him for 20 years, and I can only speak of him from the deepest place in my heart, with the greatest reverence. He is the one who elevates football to the level of art. He is the one whose every touch of the ball is a poem. And he is the one because of whom football is not merely a sport — but an identity that cuts us to the bone, summoning in us all at once the beauty that binds us to this game.
What he is capable of is magical, singular. He is not a midfielder. He is not a penalty-box striker. He is not an ageing Argentine deity. He is Messi — a concept, and a concept whose meaning is a synonym for Genius. And for as long as human memory exists, that meaning will live on.
Argentina may not be able to defend the title. The road is long, much needs to fall into place, and on paper they don’t have the strongest squad. But in one thing they stand apart — and that is brotherhood.
The extraordinary success of recent years has been built, in no small part, on a fraternal bond and solidarity between these players that I simply don’t see at any other national team. They would die for each other if it came to it. And Lionel Scaloni is a remarkable coach precisely because he recognised this, gave it shape, and then gave it space to breathe.
In 2022, without Messi, Argentina would not have won the World Cup — they might not even have made it out of the group. Think of that goal against Mexico. And yet — without a team like this, without the word being written in capitals: TEAM — Messi would not be a world champion either. The way these players and the entire staff work in service of each other, quietly erasing the gaps that age and physical condition no longer allow him to cover himself — that is the foundation of everything.
Messi carries the magic. The team carries Messi. And together, they carry Argentina.
Exactly 20 years ago, on June 16th, Messi became Argentina’s youngest ever scorer. On June 16th, 2026, he became the oldest. What a circle. What a life.
Argentina are among the favourites — and not just because of Messi, and not just because of their brotherhood. They are strong in transition, capable of controlling matches both with and without the ball, and deadly on the counter when the space opens up. Algeria, however, are no pushover — far from it. Complacency would be a mistake. In a World Cup, everything always hangs by a thread.
Lionel Messi Hat-trick Beats Algeria | FIFA World Cup 2026™ Match Highlights
