"Messi just has to keep playing until he dies on the field," write Zito Madu posted on X.

And it's impossible to summarize Lionel Messi's ageless brilliance better than that.

Messi will turn 39 on June 24, and he became the first man in history to appear in six World Cups when he and Argentina took the field against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday night.

Don't tell him that, because he just notched his first-ever World Cup hat trick.

Messi looked as spry as he ever has when he rocketed a golazo from outside of the box in the 17th minute. He is now the third-oldest man to ever score at a World Cup, and the oldest to score multiple goals in a World Cup match, per OptaJoe.

And he did it again in the 60th minute:

And again in the 76th minute!

Messi's first-ever World Cup goal came in his debut on June 16, 2006, and his 14th, 15th, and 16th came on June 16, 2026.

With the first goal, Messi became the second man to score a goal in five World Cups. He has also scored five of his 16 World Cup goals from outside the box, the most of any player since 1966, per OptaJoe.

Messi's 16 all-time World Cup goals are tied with Germany's Miroslav Klose for most all time. Messi and France's Kylian Mbappe, who scored a brace of his own earlier Tuesday to bring his total to 14, will each try to break Klose's record to stand alone as the all-time World Cup scorer before tournament's end.

Messi made history before doing any of that. He made his 200th international appearance for Argentina against Algeria, putting him in the room with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Kuwait's Bader Al-Mutawa as the only men to cross that threshold for their respective nations, per B/R.

All that Messi will care about is Argentina's 3-0 win over Algeria to start their World Cup title defense on the right foot. Argentina is vying to become the first nation to repeat as men's World Cup champions since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, per ESPN. They'll look to add 3 more points in Group J play against Austria on Monday, June 22.