An emotional Lionel Messi was wiping his tears with his shirt after scoring Argentina‘s first goal against Algeria in the World Cup, a strike that marked the beginning of a memorable performance where he netted thrice to secure a 3-0 win.
But while his first World Cup hat-trick had many Argentine fans in tears of joy, Messi said he was crying for a personal reason unrelated to the sport.
“Why did I cry? It was something completely unrelated to football. I went through some difficult days,” said Messi, who is playing in a record sixth World Cup, after Tuesday’s match.
“But I’m grateful to the entire delegation and my teammates because they were always by my side, giving me a lot of strength to help me get through it.”
Messi, who turns 39 next week, has equalled Miroslav Klose’s record of scoring 16 goals at the World Cup.
Argentina will continue their title defence with a Group J game against Austria on Monday.
Meanwhile, Norway’s prolific striker Erling Haaland wasted no time in opening his World Cup account as he found the net twice in a 4-1 defeat of Iraq in Group I that sent a warning to defenders in the rest of the tournament.
In the 29th minute of his country’s first World Cup match in 28 years, Haaland slid in at the far post to connect with a low cross from left back David Moller Wolfe.
Veteran Iraq striker Aymen Hussein out-jumped three defenders to power in a header in the 39th minute to equalise. But Haaland struck again four minutes later for his 57th goal in 51 international matches when he chased an under-hit Zaid Tahseen backpass that goalkeeper Jalal Hassan, after hesitating, blasted into the striker’s knee, and the ball rebounded into the net.
Norway substitute Leo Ostigard scored with a header from a corner in the 76th minute and an own goal by Hussein made it 4-1 in the final seconds. The win put Norway top of Group I ahead of France, who beat Senegal 3-1 earlier on Tuesday.
Austria marked their return to the World Cup after a 28-year absence with a tense 3-1 win over debutants Jordan in their Group J opener, relying on a second-half own goal and a last-gasp penalty to claim the three points.
Reuters
