Lionel Messi delivered another historic World Cup performance on the night Argentina beat Algeria 3-0, but the discussion after the match focused not only on his hat-trick, tears and records. In the 31st minute, shortly after scoring the opener and appearing emotional, the Argentina captain made a hard challenge on Algeria defender Issa Mandi, triggering a major online argument over whether he should have been sent off before halftime.
The incident came 14 minutes after Messi broke the deadlock. While pressing Mandi, he arrived late, raised his leg and made contact with the defender. The referee whistled for an Algeria foul, but did not even show Messi a yellow card. Fans, refereeing accounts and journalists criticized the decision, with one supporter writing, “The clearest red card there is, and he did not even get a yellow. Even after VAR review.” Another said Messi escaped after “a completely ugly foul on an Algeria player,” while a third added, “There is no chance this is not a red. Even Messi understood the mistake he made, and they did not even give him a yellow.” The VAR account Archivo VAR called it “a serious VAR mistake,” saying Messi hit Mandi from behind and it was “a clear red card,” but VAR ignored it.
The controversy only grew because Messi stayed on the pitch and took over the match. After his first goal in the 17th minute, he scored twice more to complete the hat-trick and lead Argentina to a smooth start in defending their title. The three goals lifted him to 16 World Cup goals, tying Miroslav Klose for the all-time lead in World Cup scoring.
After the game, Messi downplayed the milestone. “It is an honor,” he said. “Mbappe and Ronaldo the Brazilian are there, but those numbers mean nothing. They are just statistics.” He also said Argentina were well positioned when they had the ball and managed the match well, adding that the team knew from the previous World Cup that “no one gives you anything for free.”
Messi said his tears after the first goal were not only about football. “It is because of reasons not related to football,” he said. “I went through some difficult days, and I thank the delegation and my teammates for giving me strength and helping me get through it.” Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic praised Messi but said his players helped him too, while Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said the result came from Messi’s brilliance and the team’s willingness to suffer together.
