Messi hat-trick sinks Algeria, Jordan becomes a final

Messi hat-trick buries Algeria in opener

Lionel Messi scored all three. Argentina 3–0 Algeria in the World Cup opener, and your team had no answer (2). Messi, playing his 200th international match, ran the game. Alexis Mac Allister put it plainly after the final whistle: "C'est très difficile d'apprendre de ce qu'il fait", it is very hard to learn from what he does (2). Luca Zidane started in goal, the first Zidane to play in a World Cup in twenty years. His father Zinedine was in Kansas City to watch.

Jordan next: win or go home

Algeria now face Jordan in Santa Clara in a match that decides everything (1). Lose, and the tournament is over. Win, and the group stays alive. The 3–0 defeat to Argentina stings, but the math is simple, nothing else matters right now.