Lionel Messi has admitted everything he achieves from this point forward is simply a "bonus" after producing another masterclass to fire Argentina to victory in their World Cup opener.The 38-year-old rolled back the years in Kansas City on Wednesday night, scoring the first World Cup hat-trick of his glittering career as Argentina launched their title defence with a comfortable 3-0 win over Algeria.It was yet another landmark evening for the Inter Miami star, who also made his 200th appearance for Argentina and extended his own record to 27 World Cup matches.Messi's treble took him level with Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals, leaving him within touching distance of becoming the outright leading scorer in the competition's history.TRENDINGStoriesVideosYour SayWith group-stage fixtures against Austria and Jordan still to come, the Argentine great has the opportunity to move clear of the former Germany striker, although France forward Kylian Mbappe remains in pursuit after moving onto 14 goals with a brace against Senegal.Yet for Messi, statistics and records are no longer his primary concern.Having already won every major honour available at club and international level, the Argentina captain says he is simply savouring what is likely to be the final World Cup adventure of his remarkable career."Everything I'm experiencing now is a bonus," Messi said."I've been fortunate enough to achieve all my dreams or even more than I ever dreamed of achieving both professionally and personally."Now I'm just enjoying this, being part of a wonderful group, feeling good and being able to enjoy it out on the pitch."This is far more than I could ever have imagined when I was a kid."Messi was in inspired form throughout the evening and might have finished with four goals had an early strike not been ruled out for offside.LATEST SPORTS NEWS:Joe Root dismisses call for alcohol ban on England team insisting 'there is not a drinking culture'BBC axes legendary Wimbledon pundit from lead commentary coverageHarry Kane and other England players tricked into signing document ahead of Croatia World Cup clashArgentina manager Lionel Scaloni was left struggling to find the words to describe another breathtaking display from his talisman."For 20 years, he's had us used to seeing things like this, and he inspires everyone who watches him play," Scaloni said. "We're going to take it one game at a time."The team is happy; we gave playing time to a lot of players."Hopefully we can win the next one so everyone can be in the third group game."It was a difficult night for Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane, who will feel he should have done better with at least two of Messi's goals.The shot-stopper allowed Messi's opener to slip through his grasp despite getting both hands to the effort, before spilling another attempt straight into the path of the Argentine skipper in the second half.Algeria captain Aissa Mandi could only marvel at Messi's ruthless finishing."What made the difference is that they have a player who is ruthless; almost every chance he gets ends up in the back of the net," he said."He might be the best player of all time."His efficiency is formidable; we knew that."We tried to shut him down as much as possible, but it didn't work he was too good for us there."Having won the World Cup three-and-a-half years ago in Qatar, Messi's exploits will now have Argentina dreaming of going all the way again. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter

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