Argentina vs Algeria player ratings: Messi flawless, Luca Zidane endures nightmare in Kansas City

The reigning World Cup champions opened their campaign by reinforcing their status as favourites on Tuesday. Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 in the opening round of Group J thanks to Lionel Messi, whose hat-trick saw him draw level with Miroslav Klose as the World Cup's all-time leading scorer on 16 goals.

The Argentine genius broke the deadlock in the first half with a stunning strike from outside the box, then added two more after the break — first tapping in after a Mac Allister effort was parried, and then curling home with the trademark finish that has defined his career. However, the scoreline flattered Argentina somewhat, as Algeria showed quality and caused discomfort at times, even if they never truly tested Emiliano Martinez.

Argentina player ratings

Emiliano Martinez — 6/10

Was not called upon to make a significant save, but his long pass initiated the move for Argentina's second goal.

Gonzalo Montiel — 5/10

Cristian Romero — 6/10

Lisandro Martinez — 6.5/10

Facundo Medina — 6/10

Rodrigo De Paul — 7.5/10

Messi's opener on 16 minutes only happened because of the Inter Miami midfielder. Positioned between the centre-backs, De Paul delivered a pass that cut through two Algerian lines and opened up a huge gap for the number 10 to score. He also connected the counter-attack that led to the third goal. Alternating between support play and moving wide to the right during build-up, the 32-year-old was one of Argentina's best performers.

Enzo Fernandez — 7/10

Wears the number five shirt, advances like a box-to-box midfielder and still arrives in the penalty area. Enzo Fernandez is the most complete player in Argentina's engine room and delivered an excellent performance, ranking among the players with the most touches in the match.

Alexis Mac Allister — 6.5/10

Despite operating as the deepest midfielder in theory, he ended up with less involvement than his central midfield colleagues. Mac Allister was still decisive in attack, however, firing the shot that produced the rebound for Messi's second goal.

Thiago Almada — 5/10

Lionel Messi — 10/10

Every superlative has already been used to describe the greatest player of the 21st century. Messi did everything short of making it rain in Kansas City. He scored three goals, each bearing the hallmarks of his genius. He turned effortlessly and struck a powerful effort from the edge of the box for the first, even if the goalkeeper helped it in. For the second, despite it being a theoretically simple rebound, he produced a deft touch that wrong-footed the keeper — something few others would even attempt. To complete the hat-trick, he drifted wide, received the return pass and curled home the kind of finish every football fan has witnessed a dozen times before. Genius.

Lautaro Martinez — 6/10

Given the nod ahead of Julian Alvarez, the usual starter, Lautaro was involved throughout with intelligent movement that dragged the Algerian defence out of position. He forced an excellent save from the goalkeeper with a driven effort across goal.

SUBSTITUTES

Nahuel Molina 5/10

Nico Gonzalez 6/10

Julian Alvarez 5/10

Nicolas Otamendi n/a

Nico Paz n/a

Algeria player ratings

© Iconsport / DeFodi Images / Thor Wegner

Luca Zidane — 3/10

The son of a legend stood out for all the wrong reasons. Messi's first shot was struck with power but was not quite in the top corner — yet Zidane palmed the ball into his own net. For Mac Allister's long-range effort, struck centrally, Zidane spilled it straight at Messi's feet. It could have been a standout display, as he did produce two fine saves to delay the hat-trick and denied Lautaro with another stop. He could do nothing about the third goal.

Rafik Belghali — 4/10

Aissa Mandi — 5.5/10

Ramy Bensebaini — 5/10

Rayan Ait-Nouri — 5/10

Nabil Bentaleb — 4/10

Hicham Boudaoui — 5/10

Ibrahim Maza — 5.5/10

The promising youngster showed quality whenever he found space. He produced a brilliant piece of skill early on and provided the assist for Fares Chaibi, who was flagged offside, to score while the game was still goalless.

Fares Chaibi — 5.5/10

Beyond the disallowed goal, the winger had an interesting outing, drifting inside from the left to provide an extra option in central areas.

Anis Hadj Moussa — 5/10

Amine Gouiri — 4/10

SUBSTITUTES 

Houssem Aouar 5/10

Riyad Mahrez 5/10

Mohamed Amoura 4/10

Adil Boulbina n/a,

Ramiz Zerrouki n/a