At 39, most players are fading. Messi is still operating at the highest level.
Every four years, the World Cup becomes a mirror held up to the human story — of age and ambition, of heritage and belonging, of nations expressed through the feet of those who may never have lived within their borders. On Matchday 6 of the 2026 tournament, Lionel Messi, at 39, scored three goals against Algeria to become the oldest hat-trick scorer in World Cup history, equaling the all-time goals record in the process, while Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland announced themselves as the tournament's next claimants. The day reminded us that football's grandest stage does not merely crown champions — it asks quiet, complicated questions about who we are and where we come from.
- A 39-year-old Messi refused to be a relic, scoring three times against Algeria to shatter records that many assumed were already sealed by time.
- The match carried an almost mythological undercurrent — Algeria's goalkeeper was the son of Zinedine Zidane, whose own Algerian roots trace back to 132 years of French colonial history.
- France's Mbappe dismantled Senegal with two goals, but the deeper tension lay in the fact that ten of Senegal's players were themselves born in France — a quiet indictment of global football's unequal economy.
- Haaland scored his first World Cup goals, moving through opposition like a force of nature, while Zidane Iqbal quietly made history as the first player of Pakistani origin to appear at a World Cup.
- Controversy shadowed Messi's brilliance, with critics arguing he was shielded by referees — a debate that will outlast the match, even if the three goals on the board will not.
The World Cup has always been where advertisements become real, and on Matchday 6, the stars assembled in Nike and Adidas campaigns stepped off the screen and onto the pitch. None did so more dramatically than Lionel Messi, who at 39 scored a hat-trick against Algeria to become the oldest player ever to achieve that feat at a World Cup, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo's previous record. In the same performance, he equaled Miroslav Klose's career tally of 16 World Cup goals — a monument to longevity that few imagined still within reach. His 200th tournament appearance served as a declaration: he is not finished.
The second goal carried its own quiet history. Algeria's goalkeeper, Luca Zidane, is the son of Zinedine Zidane — who himself played for Algeria in tribute to his Algerian heritage, a lineage shaped by 132 years of French colonial rule. The younger Zidane, it seems, did not inherit his father's reflexes. Not everyone found poetry in the performance; Piers Morgan argued Messi received preferential treatment from officials, a debate that will linger even as the scoreline does not change.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe scored twice as France defeated Senegal — reversing the shock of 2002, when Senegal had famously beaten France in the tournament's opening match. The victory felt complete, though the irony ran deep: ten of Senegal's 22 players were born in France, part of a broader pattern in which 98 French-born players appeared across the tournament for various nations. Erling Haaland, facing no such questions of identity, scored his first World Cup goals and moved across the pitch with the efficiency of someone built for exactly this moment.
One small but resonant detail: Zidane Iqbal took the field for Iraq, becoming the first player of Pakistani origin to appear at a World Cup. The tournament's story, as ever, keeps expanding in directions no one quite anticipated. Ahead lie Ronaldo's Portugal, England's long-suffering campaign, and a Colombia side carrying both Luis Diaz and the fading nostalgia of James Rodriguez — each match another chapter in a competition that has never really been only about football.
The World Cup has always been a stage for the world's biggest brands to remake themselves, and this year Nike and Adidas arrived with competing visions of what football stardom looks like in 2026. Adidas built their campaign around Timothée Chalamet assembling a team of legends—Messi, Beckham, Zidane, Del Piero rendered in CGI—to take on three unbeaten street footballers. Nike went bigger, assembling so many names across past and present that the roster reads like a Marvel ensemble: Cantona, Mbappe, Haaland, and a cast so sprawling it could make a studio executive dizzy. But on Matchday 6, the advertisements became real.
Lionel Messi, at 39 years old, scored three goals against Algeria in what felt less like a football match and more like a coronation. He became the oldest player ever to score a hat-trick at a World Cup, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo's previous record. In doing so, he also equaled Miroslav Klose's tally of 16 World Cup goals across his career—a number that stands as a monument to longevity and precision. This was Messi's 200th appearance in the tournament, and he served notice that he remains far from finished. The second goal was particularly telling: Algeria's goalkeeper Luca Zidane, son of the legendary Zinedine Zidane, should have done better to parry the shot away. Zidane the elder played for Algeria because of his Algerian heritage, a thread that connects back to Algeria's 132 years as a French colony. The younger Zidane, it seems, did not inherit his father's reflexes or his famous headbutt.
Not everyone saw poetry in the performance. Piers Morgan argued that Messi received preferential treatment from referees, pointing to a tackle that Morgan believed warranted a red card. The debate over whether Messi was protected by the officials will linger, but the three goals on the scoreboard remain undeniable.
While Messi was writing his own legend, Kylian Mbappe was doing the same for France. He scored twice against Senegal in a dominant display that announced his intentions for the tournament. France's victory carried particular weight: in 2002, Senegal had shocked France in the opening match of that World Cup. This time, there was no upset. The irony, though, cuts deeper than the scoreline. Of Senegal's 22-player squad, ten were born in France. Across this entire tournament, 98 players were born in France—more than any other nation. The Netherlands sent 67 French-born players, England 49. There is something melancholic about the global football economy that forces talented players to choose between their birthplace and their ambition, though Erling Haaland faced no such dilemma. The Norwegian striker scored his first World Cup goals and moved across the pitch like a machine designed for destruction.
One small but significant moment arrived when Zidane Iqbal took the field for Iraq, becoming the first player of Pakistani origin to ever play in a World Cup. The tournament's reach continues to expand in unexpected directions.
The calendar now turns to matches that carry their own weight. Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal face the Democratic Republic of Congo, with Bruno Fernandes—the Premier League's Player of the Year—orchestrating play from midfield. England takes on Croatia, a team still led by the seemingly ageless Luka Modric. England has not won the World Cup since 1966 and lost the last two European Championship finals. Manager Thomas Tuchel made hard choices, leaving behind Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, and Harry Maguire. He will lean on Harry Kane to continue his scoring form. Ghana plays Panama, though Ghana's Thomas Partey will not be available due to rape and assault charges pending in the UK that prevent him from entering Canada. And in the early hours, Uzbekistan faces Colombia at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, where Fabio Cannavaro—the 2006 World Cup winner—tells his team they have nothing to lose, though they will face a Colombian side built around Luis Diaz and the nostalgia of James Rodriguez.
Notable Quotes
You were my backup plan— Timothée Chalamet to Messi in Adidas advertisement
Nothing to lose— Fabio Cannavaro to his Uzbekistan team before facing Colombia
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that Messi broke Ronaldo's record for oldest hat-trick scorer? Isn't he just getting older?
Because it's not about age—it's about what he's still capable of doing. At 39, most players are fading. Messi is still operating at the highest level. That changes how we think about what's possible in football.
The article mentions that Adidas and Nike together sponsor 26 of 48 teams. Does that concentration of power matter?
It shapes the entire narrative of the tournament. These companies decide which players become icons, which stories get told. When both brands feature the same superstars—Mbappe, Haaland, Messi—they're telling the world who matters. It's not accidental.
Why is it significant that 98 of the players at this World Cup were born in France?
It reveals how football has become untethered from geography. A player born in Senegal or the Netherlands can represent France because of immigration, opportunity, or family history. It's efficient for France, but it also means talented players from their birth countries don't get to play. There's a human cost to that efficiency.
Piers Morgan thought Messi got special treatment. Do you think that's fair criticism?
It's worth asking. Superstars do sometimes get the benefit of the doubt from referees. But Messi also scored three goals. Even if one call went his way, the other two were undeniable. The criticism matters, but it doesn't erase what happened.
What does Zidane Iqbal's appearance for Iraq tell us?
That the World Cup is finally reaching places it hasn't before. A player of Pakistani origin playing in the World Cup would have been impossible a generation ago. It's a small thing, but it shows the tournament is expanding beyond its traditional centers of power.