The king is not done yet

PETALING JAYA: The future can wait.

For days, this World Cup has buzzed with the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe and the power of Erling Haaland. Football’s next rulers have arrived, we were told. The throne would soon pass.

Then Lionel Messi stepped onto the stage and delivered a reminder that echoed around the world today.

Not yet.

The Argentine maestro produced a performance dripping with authority, artistry and inevitability.

Three goals. One record equalled. One more chapter added to a career that long ago escaped comparison and entered legend.

Reigning champions Argentina opened their title defence with a commanding 3-0 victory over Algeria, but the score barely captured the scale of Messi’s influence.

Everything revolved around him at the Kansas City Stadium.

Every dangerous move seemed to flow through his boots. Every promising attack carried his DNA. Every roar from the crowd felt like anticipation of the next piece of magic.

Even the opening minutes hinted at the drama to come.

Both sides had goals disallowed inside the first 10 minutes. Messi thought he had struck first. Algeria’s Fares Chaibi believed he had answered. Neither counted.

For a brief spell, the contest felt balanced.

Then Messi took control.

In the 17th minute, Rodrigo De Paul found him in space. The rest unfolded with a familiarity that has tormented defenders for nearly two decades.

Messi drifted forward, assessed the landscape in front of him and unleashed a fierce strike from distance. Luca Zidane got both hands to the ball but could not stop it crossing the line.

Argentina led. The stadium erupted.

It was Messi’s 118th international goal, his 14th at World Cup finals and the first sign that Algeria were confronting something they could not contain.

The longer the game continued, the larger he became.

Football’s immortal

Great players react to matches. Messi dictates them.

His second goal arrived through instinct rather than spectacle.

Alexis Mac Allister drove a low shot from distance. Zidane spilled it. Before anyone else could react, Messi had already read the bounce, anticipated the mistake and moved into position.

One touch. Goal. World Cup goal number 15.

It was a poacher’s finish from a player many still describe only as a creator. Yet that has always been part of his genius. He sees the next moment before everyone else.

By then Algeria looked exhausted from chasing shadows.

The third goal completed the masterpiece.

Messi started the move himself, carrying the ball through the centre before releasing substitute Nico Gonzalez on the left. Julian Alvarez’s intelligent run dragged defenders away. Gonzalez returned the pass.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner took one touch. Then another low finish flew into the corner.

Hat-trick. History.

His first World Cup hat-trick. His 16th World Cup goal. Level with Miroslav Klose as the competition’s all-time leading scorer.

The crowd rose as one, so did his teammates. They were witnessing longevity transformed into greatness.

Footballers are supposed to slow down at 38. Their legs lose a fraction of pace. Recovery becomes harder. The game gradually asks for a younger body.

Yet Messi, making his 200th appearance for his country, continues to find answers as he approaches his 39th birthday.

Perhaps he no longer glides past four defenders as often as he once did. Perhaps the bursts are shorter.

But his understanding of space remains unmatched. His vision remains extraordinary. His touch remains immaculate. His decision-making remains devastating.

You may lose pace. You never lose genius.

That is why Argentina remain such formidable champions. Around them stands a gifted squad. At their centre stands a football mind unlike any other.

The timing felt significant.

Mbappe has dazzled this tournament. Haaland has thundered through it. Both are shaping the next era of football.

Yet on a night when the world champions launched another World Cup campaign, the game’s elder statesman reclaimed the spotlight.

Soon enough, the future will belong to others. Soon enough, football’s crown will pass to a new generation.

But not today.

Today belonged to Messi.…