Tuesday’s World Cup action may have provided the best day of the young tournament. While all the favorites dominated in expected fashion, the stars of the sport put on brilliant performances, with one even altering the history books. France’s Kylian Mbappé, Norway’s Erling Haaland, and Argentina’s Lionel Messi all powered their country to strong victories in their opening matches with all scoring at least two goals apiece. However, the legendary Messi one-upped both of the young superstars with a hat trick that lifted his legacy to yet another level. The moment of the day, and of the tournament so far, came in the reigning World Cup champion Argentina’s first game. In its quest to be the third team ever to win back-to-back tournaments, the first since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, Argentina, led by Messi, put on a show. One of the greatest players in the history of the sport scored all three goals for Argentina in its 3-0 win over Algeria. Messi, who turns 39 next week, earned his first career World Cup hat trick 20 years after his first-ever World Cup goal. This catapulted him into a tie for first in total goals in World Cup history with Germany’s Miroslav Klose, a record Messi will likely break later in the tournament. FIFA WORLD CUP HAT TRICK FOR MESSI!