India, June 18 -- Lionel Messi has credited Rafael Nadal with inspiring his record-breaking hat-trick at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, revealing he watched a documentary on the Spanish tennis great hours before taking the pitch against Algeria.

The 38-year-old Argentina captain made history earlier this week in Kansas City. In his 200th international appearance, Messi delivered a vintage performance, dismantling the Algerian defence to secure a 3-0 victory. He opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a curling open-play effort before striking twice more in the 60th and 76th minutes. The feat made him the oldest player to register a World Cup hat-trick, eclipsing Portuguese rival Cristiano Ronaldo. It also pushed his all-time tournament tall...