2026 World Cup: How Super Eagles played key role in Messi’s goalscoring record

Lionel Messi scored a historic hat-trick against Algeria in Argentina’s 2026 World Cup opener at the Kansas City Stadium to draw level with Miroslav Klose as the competition’s all-time leading scorer on 16 goals, Afrik Foot reports.

The Argentine captain, just a week to his 29th birthday, became the oldest player in World Cup history to score a hat-trick, while also becoming the first player ever to score in five different editions of the tournament.

Messi’s relationship with Nigeria at the World Cup dates back to 2010 in South Africa, where Super Eagles goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama produced one of the greatest individual goalkeeping performances in tournament history, denying the then-Barcelona man four times.

Four years later in Brazil, Messi got his revenge. In Argentina’s final group stage game against the Super Eagles in 2014, he thumped a shot into the roof of the net to break the deadlock, finally overcoming the Enyeama curse, before adding a curled free-kick that the goalkeeper didn’t even attempt to stop, turning away in frustration after his wall failed to do their job.

How Super Eagles played a key role in Messi’s World Cup record

Messi arrived at the 2026 World Cup with 13 goals to his name, three shy of Klose’s record of 16 set across four tournaments between 2002 and 2014.

Against Algeria, he fired Argentina into the lead in the 17th minute before capitalising on a goalkeeper error to complete his brace, then curling into the bottom corner to seal a historic first career World Cup hat-trick.

The Super Eagles’ fingerprints, however, are all over the journey that brought him to that moment.

The Super Eagles’ fingerprints, however, are all over the journey that brought him to that moment under the Kansas City lights.

Of Messi’s 13 goals heading into the 2026 tournament, three of them — his fourth, fifth, and sixth World Cup strikes came directly against Nigeria across the 2014 and 2018 tournaments.

Without those goals against the Super Eagles, Messi would have arrived at this World Cup needing six goals to equal Klose, not three.

In a cruel twist of irony, the Super Eagles were not even in North America to witness the milestone they helped create.

Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, falling to DR Congo on penalties in the CAF playoff final after a torturous qualification campaign.

The side that once denied Messi in 2010, and then handed him three goals across 2014 and 2018, are watching from home as the man they tormented, and ultimately aided, writes his name into football history.

DR Congo, meanwhile, just scored their first-ever World Cup goal against Portugal, courtesy of Newcastle United striker Yoane Wissa.