The evening had a historical charge from the beginning. The captain of the “albiceleste” completed 200 appearances with the national team and became the first footballer in history to appear in six different World Cup finals. But Messi was not content with recording another number. He chose to accompany the milestone with the most deafening reminder of his footballing genius.

The game began with intensity and two moments that seemed to herald a spectacle, but were canceled by the details of offside. The essence, however, came a little later.

In the 17th minute, time seemed to slow down. Messi received the ball from De Paul near the center area, spun with that familiar economy of movement and began to create space where there was none. With a few meters of driving and a precise execution, he sent the ball into the top left corner of the goal, leaving Zidane simply a spectator of another work of high technique.

Argentina, without raising the pace excessively, imposed control of the match. With possession, calm and a clear sense of superiority, he limited Algeria's offensive pursuits and managed the lead with characteristic maturity.

In the replay, the world champions continued to dictate the terms of the match and in the 60th minute the same protagonist returned to the fore. After an effort from McAllister and an unstable intervention from Zidane, Messi found himself in the right spot and in a simple, almost self-evident way, he converted the phase into a goal that essentially sealed the result.

The climax came in the 76th minute. With composure and precision from the height of the area, he completed the first hat-trick of his career in the final phase of a World Cup and gave the evening dimensions of historical reference.

With this achievement, he reached 16 goals in World Cups and climbed to the top of the all-time scorers of the tournament, alongside Miroslav Klose.

A few minutes later, when he left to make way for Nico Paz, the stadium stood up. It was not just applause for a great match. It was recognition for a footballer who continues to transform duration into greatness and history into his own narrative.

Argentina took the first step towards defending their crown. And Messi reminded us that, even at 38, he is still writing chapters that will be difficult to repeat.