The world still belongs to Messi

The world still belongs to Messi.

And we are all living in that world.

The World Cup still belongs to Messi.

And we are all watching it.

At 38 years of age and playing in his sixth World Cup, there were plenty of questions before the match. How much had he recovered from his recent muscle injury? Would he start the game? And even if he did, could he still change the course of a match at this age? Or had he become merely a figure of nostalgia — someone who could stir emotions in the stands but no longer carried the same thunder in his boots?

Within 45 minutes, Lionel Messi had made those questions seem ridiculous.

Just minutes after kick-off, he was seen dropping deep into his own half to win back possession before immediately chasing down Algerian defenders. There was a small wonder hidden in that moment. The Messi we have watched over the past few years — measured in his movements, conserving energy — seemed to have given way to a younger version of himself on this night.

Sharper. Hungrier.

He had the ball in the net in the fifth minute, only for the goal to be ruled out for a marginal offside. It was as if fate was saying, “Wait, something even more beautiful is coming.”

It arrived in the 17th minute.

Messi received Rodrigo De Paul’s pass nearly 40 yards from goal. Suddenly, there was open space ahead of him. Three touches later, he unleashed a shot from the edge of the box. Luca Zidane got a hand to it but could not keep it out. As the ball hit the net, the roar inside the stadium felt like more than a celebration of a goal; it was as though people were rediscovering an old belief.

The frenzy of La Bombonera and the collective sighs of El Monumental merged into one in Kansas City. For a moment, the stadium no longer felt like it was in the United States.

It became a piece of Argentina.

The second goal arrived on the hour mark. Zidane parried Alexis Mac Allister’s long-range effort into the wrong area, and Messi was the first to react. Great players have an instinct for opportunities, even inside a goalkeeper’s mistake. Messi sensed it and finished clinically.

And the third?

That was the real Messi.

In the 77th minute, he curled a shot into the bottom corner from outside the box, threading it between three defenders. It looked like a scene borrowed from an old Barcelona evening. For a brief instant, time seemed to stop.

Then came the explosion.

A hat-trick. His first at a World Cup.

This hat-trick was about far more than three goals. With 16 World Cup goals, he drew level with Germany’s all-time leading scorer, Miroslav Klose, writing his name alongside the greatest goalscorer in World Cup history. By simply stepping onto the pitch, he had already become the first player ever to appear in six World Cups.

Another piece of history.

Argentina began their title defence with a convincing 3-0 victory over Algeria, looking every bit like champions. On his 200th international appearance, Messi delivered one of those nights that become etched into memory.

There was a time when Argentina depended on Messi to carry them. Now, it feels as though Messi, too, is leaning on Argentina to write new stories. Lionel Scaloni’s side are organised at the back, dynamic in midfield and flexible in attack.

Messi no longer has to carry the world on his own shoulders.

Perhaps that is why he looks freer now.

More dangerous.

On Tuesday night, a 38-year-old man proved that greatness does not come with an expiry date.

When he walked off in the 80th minute to a standing ovation, 70,000 voices rose as one. Under the sky-blue and white glow that had engulfed Kansas City, Messi walked calmly — the way only he can.

As if he already knew.

The world still belongs to him.