New Delhi, June 18 -- At age 38 and playing in his sixth World Cup, Lionel Messi has his first hat trick in soccer's biggest tournament and Argentina's defense of the trophy is off to a flying start.

Messi's three goals in the 3-0 win over Algeria on Tuesday saw him become the joint highest scorer in men's World Cup history alongside Germany's Miroslav Klose with 16 in total. It was also the first hat trick of this year's tournament and the 55th in World Cup history.

Hat tricks used to have a very different meaning

The term "hat trick" is well-known to sports fans in the United States and, just like soccer, it is used in hockey to describe when a player scores three goals in one game. But it was originally used in cricket and is widely...