The Argentine soccer team began the defense of its crown with a resounding 3-0 victory against Algeria at the Kansas City Stadium, in what was the second best debut in its history in a World Cup. The team led by Lionel Scaloni He resolved his first Group J game with authority, counteracting the high pressure of the African team that tried to bother him in the first minutes and even had a goal disallowed for an offside position at the start of the match.
The resounding victory of the Albiceleste team not only gave the first three points to those captained by Lionel Messi, but also broke the negative streak that came from their most recent debuts, such as the 1-1 draw against Iceland in Russia 2018 or the surprising 2-1 loss against Saudi Arabia in Qatar 2022. A clear and forceful positioning of the national team in contrast to other highly prestigious teams, such as Spain or the Netherlands, which had a much more off.
This promising start ratifies the golden cycle of a team that, under the leadership of Scalonihas achieved enviable international consistency after having consecutively won the 2021 Copa América, the 2022 Finalissima, the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the 2024 Copa América. The collective hierarchy of the team was once again evident on North American soil through the defensive deployment of Lisandro Martínez, the firm leadership of Alexis MacAllister and Enzo Fernández in the midfield and the usual dynamics of Rodrigo De Paul to supply the attack.
In the press conference after the match, the Santa Fe coach highlighted the ability of his team by defining them as “competitive animals” who know how to put on overalls and support each other in the most complex sections of the game. A separate page in the Kansas City night, which will remain engraved in the golden pages of sport, was the stellar work of Lionel Messiwho contributed a memorable hat-trick and destroyed multiple international records.
The moment he stepped on the grass, the Rosario star became the footballer to play in six World Cups (2006, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026). Furthermore, by celebrating his 200th official match with the senior shirt, the captain became the oldest player of all time to score a hat trick in a World Cup, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s previous record in 2018. With his three conquests against Algeria, Messi reached 16 goals in World Cup events and equaled the German Miroslav Klose as the competition’s all-time top scorer.
The “Pulga” goal show began 17 minutes into the first stage. After receiving precise assistance between the lines from Rodrigo De Paul, Messi He controlled the final third, faced the center of the defense and hit a powerful left foot shot from outside the area that overcame the goalkeeper’s resistance. Luca Zidane. At the celebration of this initial goal, the captain was visibly moved and with tears in his eyes, later explaining to the media that it was due to the relief of going through a very complex family situation unrelated to sports during the previous days.
The second conquest came at 59 minutes of the complement, when the attacker intuitively sniffed out a short rebound from Zidane after a previous shot by Alexis Mac Allister to push the ball next to the left post.
Finally, at 75 minutes, after a clearance from Nicolás González, the Diez placed his body at the door of the large area and executed a low and millimeter shot against the right post to seal the final 3-0 before being replaced by the youth Nico Paz. That last play went viral on social networks, when a participant uploaded the recording of the Argentine captain walking, at times standing, and observing the maneuver to finally intervene, adding the third on the scoreboard.
With this great result in its favor, the Argentine team temporarily leads Group J and is already planning a key strategic outlook to ensure qualification for the next phase. The next commitment of the national team will be on Monday, June 22 against Austria at 2:00 p.m. (Argentine time) at the Dallas Stadium facilities. Five days later, on Saturday, June 27 at 11 p.m., the Albiceleste will close its participation in the initial phase against Jordan at the same venue in the state of Texas.
Scaloni’s coaching staff will seek to take advantage of these matches to moderate the physical loads of its main players, continue granting playing minutes to offensive variants such as Julián Álvarez and consolidate the lead of the group in order to obtain a favorable match against the classified teams in zone I, made up of powers of the caliber of Uruguay and Spain.
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