Argentina opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a comfortable victory over Algeria. The reigning world champions secured a 3-0 win and immediately strengthened their status as one of the tournament favourites. Lionel Messi once again stole the headlines.
The Argentina captain scored all three goals and collected another World Cup Player of the Match award.
His hat-trick also moved him level with Miroslav Klose as the World Cup’s joint all-time leading goalscorer. Messi opened the scoring in the 17th minute.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner beat Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane with a powerful effort from outside the box. He then added two more goals after the break to complete the hat-trick.
While his goals dominated much of the post-match discussion, another moment attracted significant attention. The incident involved Algeria defender Aissa Mandi.
Argentina led 1-0 when Messi challenged for the ball and caught Mandi with a late tackle. The defender immediately went to ground and appeared to be in considerable discomfort.
Despite the challenge, Polish referee Szymon Marciniak did not award a foul. VAR also chose not to intervene. The decision quickly sparked debate among supporters.
Many fans questioned why the incident escaped punishment. Some even claimed Messi received favourable treatment because of his status in world football.
The controversy intensified across social media following the final whistle. However, criticism did not come only from supporters.
ESPN pundits also delivered a strong verdict on the challenge. Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha believed the officials got the decision wrong.
“I’m going to approach this the same way Messi did and I think it should have been a red card, in my opinion. It feels like the moment was missed.
“When the player was on the floor, you could see Messi had a level of concern towards him because he knew that he’d potentially just done something that could get him in trouble.
“In the commentary, they didn’t even say anything happened. We watched the video of it and were like ‘that’s quite bad’ and they were like ‘yeah, well you know, it’s good to see Messi pressing’.”
His fellow pundit Ale Moreno took an even firmer stance. The former Venezuela international insisted the challenge warranted a dismissal. Moreno argued:
“100% a red card for Lionel Messi. It should have been. I tell you what else is concerning, and it plays along this narrative that great players get preferential treatment… when he was about the score a hat-trick, and the goalkeeper Zidane actually made a save, they showed [FIFA president] Gianni Infantino smiling and was like ‘oh man, that was close!’
“It does play into that narrative that these guys get different sort of treatment. Why is Szymon Marciniak not being called over to see this? It should have been a red card for Lionel Messi.
“As much as I love Lionel Messi, that was a clumsy challenge, a bad challenge, you’re raking the back of someone’s calf all the way from the knee down to the ankle. Should have been a red card.”
Despite the controversy, the decision remained unchanged. Messi stayed on the pitch and completed his hat-trick.
Argentina ultimately secured all three points without further difficulty. The focus will now shift towards their next group-stage fixture.
Argentina face Austria on June 22 before concluding the group stage against Jordan. Austria currently sit level on points after defeating Jordan 2-1 in the group’s other opening match.
“It’s 100% a red card for Lionel Messi. It should’ve been.”
Ale Moreno and Nedum Onuoha react to Messi’s challenge against Algeria’s Aïssa Mandi. pic.twitter.com/0h2dMLYk4l
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 17, 2026
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