India, June 17 -- Algerian defender Aissa Mandi hailed Lionel Messi after the Argentine's sensational performance on Wednesday. The fans in Kansas City were blessed by one of the greatest of all time as Messi scored a stunning hat-trick in Argentina's 2026 FIFA World Cup opener. Whatever the opposition tried, Messi just ended up outfoxing them with ease. Facing Algeria in Group J, Messi almost scored a goal in the opening stages, but it was ruled offside.

A few minutes later, Argentina were reminded of their 2022 opening defeat to Saudi Arabia, as Fares Chaibi initially thought he had opened the scoring, only for that to be ruled offside.

The Argentina skipper opened the scoring in the 17th minute, receiving a sensational through ball f...