Everyone who isn’t playing in the FIFA World Cup right now is just a fan, and that includes people like Myles Garrett, who is a fan of Lionel Messi. The soccer tournament, currently taking place across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, has everyone enthralled and glued to their TVs.
In particular, this Tuesday, fans were treated to the opening match of reigning world champions, Argentina, led by arguably the best-ever player to grace a soccer pitch, Lionel Messi. The Argentinian didn’t disappoint, scoring a hat-trick against Algeria, in a game which Argentina won with ease, 3-0.
The new Los Angeles Rams defensive star was one of millions who tuned in to watch the masterclass by Messi. In an Instagram story he shared yesterday while watching the group stage encounter, he wrote:
“Messi isn’t human.. holy,”
The game wasn’t without controversy, though, with some fans and analysts stating that Messi should’ve been ejected near the end of the first half. At the 30th minute, Argentina’s captain went in for a dangerous challenge on Algeria’s captain Aïssa Mandi, stepping on the player’s calf and ankle.
Lionel Messi immediately apologized, and some were surprised that the referee didn’t even show him a yellow card. The action seemed reckless, and analysts are of the opinion that he should have been shown a red card. Some have even expressed that FIFA seems to treat the World Cup winner by a different, more lenient set of rules.
Lionel Messi Breaks The World Cup Record For The Oldest Ever Player To Score A Hat-trick
With three goals on Tuesday night, Messi equaled fellow World Cup winner, former German international Miroslav Klose, as the highest scorer in the history of the competition. In his usual unworried self, he spoke with reporters in the game’s aftermath and minimized his achievement:
“Honestly [the record doesn’t matter],” he told a gaggle of reporters. “It’s an honor to be there, for what it means to be next to Klose, [Brazilian] Ronaldo is also there. [Kylian] Mbappé too, he scored twice today. At the end of the day it’s just a statistic and nothing more. ”
He also achieved a couple of more records on the night, becoming the oldest player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup (38 years old), beating his lifelong rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, who previously held the record (he did it at 33 in Russia in 2018). Messi also surpassed Brazilian legend Pelé for the most goal contributions in the history of the competition (24).
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