Former Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr has shared his thoughts on Lionel Messi’s remarkable performance for Argentina against Algeria at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Inter Miami star rolled back the years with a superb display on the biggest stage, giving a reminder of why he is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time with a hat-trick to seal a 3-0 victory and help Argentina kick off their title defence in style.
The first of his three goals was a stunning effort as he received a pass from Rodrigo De Paul before firing an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Luca Zidane. The Algerian shot-stopper could have done much better with the second goal, parrying a strike from Alexis Mac Allister into the path of Messi, who calmly rolled the ball into the net.
The third goal was another trademark finish, after he received the ball on the edge of the box before curling a superb effort into the corner to complete his hat-trick and seal the victory.
Messi’s treble saw him move level with German legend Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals, tying the record for the most goals in the tournament’s history as he continues to rewrite football history despite being in the latter stages of his illustrious career.
Rohr explains how Nigeria failed to stop Messi at 2018 World Cup
Messi’s performance against Algeria also brought back memories of his previous World Cup exploits against Nigeria, particularly during the group-stage clash at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
In that encounter, the 38-year-old opened the scoring with a brilliant goal as Argentina secured a 2-1 victory over Nigeria, which sent the Super Eagles crashing out of the tournament.
Reflecting on Messi’s latest display against Algeria, Rohr expressed admiration for the Argentine legend following another record-breaking performance.
“It’s a fantastic performance from Messi. Eight years after our games against Argentina, it’s wonderful to see that he’s still so fit and so efficient”, Rohr told Soccernet.ng in an exclusive interview.
The former Super Eagles coach went on to explain how Nigeria struggled to contain Messi in their clash at the 2018 World Cup.
The former Barcelona forward scored his third World Cup goal against Nigeria in that meeting, having already netted twice in Argentina’s 3-2 victory over the Super Eagles during the group stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Although he helped his side reach the final of that tournament, they eventually lost to Germany.
“We didn’t have an individual marking against him. We tried to play collective defense, and despite our organization, he scored a goal. In the match, there was a penalty for us so we could go to 1-1, and in the end they scored a second goal, a shot from far, but Messi was the first goal.
“Unfortunately, we were eliminated by his team. This wonderful player is still here and we are very happy to see such a great football player still on the pitch having a good World Cup.”
Messi could rewrite more history when Argentina face Austria in their second group game on Monday, as another goal would see him become the outright all-time leading scorer in FIFA World Cup history.