Lionel Messi will be the best player in the world for as long as he cares to be, Lionel Scaloni declared after the Argentina icon equalled the all-time World Cup goalscoring record with a phenomenal hat-trick against Algeria.

Messi, who had never previously scored a treble at FIFA's flagship tournament, dismantled Algeria single-handedly as the defending champions won 3-0 in their Group J opener in Kansas City.

Having had a goal disallowed for offside early on, Messi fired through the gloves of Luca Zidane from distance in the 17th minute, then reacted quickest to the goalkeeper parrying Alexis Mac Allister's strike to score his second goal on the hour.

His third goal was the pick of the bunch, as he wriggled free on the edge of the area before curling into the bottom-left corner in trademark style.

At the age of 38 years and 357 days, Messi is the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick, overhauling Cristiano Ronaldo's record set in 2018 (33 years, 130 days versus Spain).

He also became the oldest player to score multiple goals in a World Cup match, surpassing Roger Milla's record for Cameroon versus Colombia in 1990 (38 years, 34 days).

And even though Messi is now out of the European limelight, plying his trade in MLS with Inter Miami, Scaloni has no doubt that he remains the very best in the business.

"I have no words for Leo, he has been doing it for 20 years. What he does and transmits is incredible," Scaloni said, as quoted by TyC Sports.

"In addition to scoring three goals, Messi put the team on his shoulder and, until he wants to, he will be the best. 

"It's exciting to see him, for Argentines and anyone who likes football, at almost 39 years old. It's difficult to explain."

Though Messi won the Golden Ball at the 2014 World Cup, scoring four goals as Argentina finished as runners-up, he only netted once at the 2006 and 2018 tournaments, and failed to score in 2010.

But his relationship with the tournament has completely changed in the twilight of his career, and he now shares the all-time World Cup goalscoring record with Germany great Miroslav Klose, with their 16 strikes each putting them ahead of Ronaldo Nazario (15), Gerd Muller and Kylian Mbappe (both 14).

Asked what has changed for Messi on the international stage, Scaloni, who also oversaw Argentina's Copa America triumphs in 2021 and 2024, said: "He always played very well, but of course, Messi's last years with the national team were wonderful. 

"He found a group of friends to play with him, not to see him as a God. He transmits something that is difficult to explain, he has a special aura."

Messi was asked in a post-match press conference if he placed much importance on the goalscoring record, but he replied: "The truth is that I don't. 

"It's an honour to be there because of what it means to be with Klose. There's Ronaldo there too, but I don't think it means anything. Mbappe is there and he scored two [on Tuesday]. 

"It's a statistic and nothing more. While we are proud to be able to compete with all of them, it doesn't mean a thing to me.

"Ronaldo, from what I saw, was one of the greatest players ever and he is not first, so it is only a statistic."

Messi also revealed he has drawn inspiration from watching a new Netflix documentary series about 22-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal, particularly from the Spaniard's approach to recovery and injury management.

"I just like to play football. It has been my passion since I was a child. When I'm well, I give my best," he added. 

"We are now watching Rafa Nadal's series and I identify a lot with him, we are very similar in the sense that I want to give my best and I want to feel good. As long as I feel well, we will be there."