The praise has caught up with Messi; Argentina still have Austria to solve
Messi's hat trick has become a cross-sport reaction story, with Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Henry, Haaland and others joining the chorus. The piece separates that noise from Argentina's real next job: managing Austria, set pieces and the Group J table.
By Wednesday afternoon, Messi's opener had turned into something larger than a clean Argentina match report. Ronaldo Nazario, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry all weighed in on the same question: whether anyone still needs the Messi-vs-Cristiano argument after a World Cup hat trick at 38. Infobae's later reaction piece quoted Ronaldo saying it was time to accept Messi as the best player of all time, Ibrahimovic saying he does not expect football to produce another Messi, and Henry saying the comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo should end rather than divide two greats. 1
That is the useful update for Argentina fans since the last post-match read: the conversation is no longer only about the 3-0 win over Algeria. It is about how loudly the football world has reacted, and how quickly Scaloni's group has to put that noise back in its place before Austria.
The reaction moved beyond Argentina's bubble
The strongest praise came from people with their own claim on football history. Ronaldo Nazario was directly affected by the scoring list, because Messi's hat trick moved him level with Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals and pushed Ronaldo's 15 down a place. Infobae quoted Ronaldo as saying that every time Messi steps on the pitch, "everything becomes historic and elegant," then added that "records are there to be broken." 1
Ibrahimovic's line was less statistical and more emotional. He said he does not think football will have another Messi because Messi is "special" and has an innate talent; in the same Infobae piece, he framed another World Cup as "one more trophy" rather than the thing that would decide Messi's standing. 1 Henry took a different route, asking that the Messi-Cristiano separation stop and that both be celebrated instead. 1
The cross-sport reaction gave the night a wider shape. Infobae collected posts from Manu Ginobili, Patrick Mahomes, Trae Young, Rio Ferdinand, Alan Shearer, Erling Haaland and Mike Tyson after Messi scored all three Argentina goals against Algeria. Ginobili joked on X that the "little kid with the 10" played well; Mahomes posted three goat emojis; Tyson posted a photo of himself with an Argentina No. 10 shirt gifted by Diego Maradona. 2
TyC Sports also isolated Haaland's message: after scoring twice for Norway in a 4-1 win over Iraq, he posted a Snapchat selfie calling Messi "a madman" and adding a crown icon. 3 That matters because Haaland is not just an outside admirer. He is one of the tournament's current scoring threats, and his own World Cup had already started loudly.
The records are real, but they are not the match plan
The record list is now hard to ignore. Messi is tied with Klose on 16 World Cup goals, level with Klose for most World Cup wins by a player, and tied with Roberto Rivelino on five goals from outside the box, according to an EFE item carried by Infobae. The same piece notes that a goal and an Argentina win against Austria would move him clear in two of those categories. 4
TyC's Golden Boot tracker has Messi alone at the top of the 2026 tournament scoring race on three goals, with Elijah Just, Erling Haaland, Folarin Balogun, Kylian Mbappe, Yasin Ayari and Kai Havertz listed on two. 5 That makes Austria more tempting as a record-watch game, but it should not be reduced to one.
Rodrigo De Paul gave the more important Argentina framing. ESPN quoted him saying Messi "doesn't care about individual records" and prioritizes the group; the same ESPN piece quoted Messi saying he feels great, is enjoying himself and wants to keep competing. 6 That is the internal tone Argentina need to keep. The outside world can count records. The dressing room has to count points, recovery days and opponent threats.
Austria made the second match sharper
Austria did enough against Jordan to make June 22 a real Group J control match. ESPN's report has Austria beating Jordan 3-1 in Santa Clara with goals from Romano Schmid, a Yazan Al-Arab own goal and a late Marko Arnautovic penalty; Ali Olwan had equalized for Jordan early in the second half. 7 TyC's Group J table now has Argentina and Austria both on three points after one match, with Argentina ahead on goal difference. 8
There is also a specific football warning in Austria's opener. ESPN described the second half as a stretch of corners, VAR review and pressure in the box, with Austria first seeing an Arnautovic goal ruled out for handball before later taking the lead from another corner sequence. 7 Argentina can expect a more direct set-piece and second-ball test than Algeria offered for long spells.
The schedule gives Scaloni time, but not much drift. TyC lists Argentina-Austria for Monday, June 22 at 14:00 in Argentina, at Dallas Stadium, before Argentina close the group against Jordan on Saturday, June 27. 8 Infobae's qualification guide adds that the top two teams in each group advance to the round of 32, with eight of the 12 third-place teams also going through under the expanded format. 9
What to watch before Dallas
For fans, the next few days have three threads.
- Messi's emotional load: Infobae quoted him saying his tears after the first goal came from a matter "totally unrelated to football" and that he had passed through difficult days. 2 That is not a tactical note, but it is part of the human context around this tournament.
- The scoring race: Messi has the early Golden Boot lead, but Haaland, Mbappe and others are already close enough to keep the race alive. 5
- Scaloni's set-piece prep: Austria's first win came through box pressure, a corner-created own goal and a stoppage-time penalty. 7
Argentina fans can enjoy the praise. They probably should. But the useful read is narrower: the wider the Messi noise gets, the more valuable Argentina's calm becomes. Austria now offers the first test of whether the champions can turn a record night back into tournament routine.
References
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- 7Austria 3-1 Jordan Game Analysis
espn.com
- 8Grupo J de la Selección Argentina del Mundial 2026
tycsports.com
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