Alexis Mac Allister struggles for words after Liverpool star helps Lionel Messi
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Alexis Mac Allister's shot led to the second of Lionel Messi's three goals as Argentina kicked-off their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 3-0 win over AlgeriaAlexis Mac Allister is a World Cup, Copa America, Premier League and League Cup winner. But when it comes to Lionel Messi, the Liverpool midfielder is just like the rest of us.Just when you think there aren't any major milestones left for the magical Messi to tick off, he goes and finds another one.One week shy of his 39th birthday and winning his 200th international cap, arguably the greatest footballer to ever have played the game scored the first World Cup hat-trick of his extraordinary career as Argentina kicked-off their defence of the trophy with a 3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas.The treble means Messi has moved level with Germany's Miroslav Klose as the all-time World Cup finals leading scorer with 16 goals.No-one would bet against him breaking the record in the coming weeks with Mac Allister insisting the Inter Miami star is in a great place after a hamstring injury, which serves as a warning to anyone who had suggested that this edition of the World Cup could prove to be one too far.While Messi grabbed all the headlines, the Liverpool man enjoyed a good evening, and it was from his long-range shot, which was parried by Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane, who is the son of France legend Zinedine, that led to the Argentina captain's second goal.And Mac Allister said to DAZN after the match: "Well, it was what we expected and what was necessary, obviously.
If anything we had the experience in the last World Cup where we started perhaps not in the best way (Argentina lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in their 2022 opener) and ended up winning."We know how important it is to start by winning, to gain confidence, and well, we were able to do it."We played against a great rival. We know they are very good and at times when we didn't have the ball, we had to defend, we had to suffer, but the important thing is we won with an incredible performance by Leo."There’s no words left to describe Leo.
If anyone ever thought this team was better without Leo today it became clear that Leo is the most important of all and that we need to build a team around him, where he feels happy and comfortable."I think we did that today and the important thing is he's doing well, he's happy and he's scoring goals, and we have to make sure that he’s happy and comfortable."Next up for Argentina is a clash with Austria, who beat Jordan 3-1 in their Group J opener, on Monday night.Mac Allister's full focus is on helping his country become the first team to win back to back World Cups since Brazil in 1962.That means speculation over his future at Liverpool is very much on hold.Like a number of his Reds team-mates last season, Mac Allister struggled for top form, and he is about to enter the final two years of his Anfield deal.Speaking ahead of the encounter with Algeria, the 27-year-old's father, Carlos, told WinWin that his son, who has been linked with Real Madrid, was not thinking about anything other than Argentina.He said: "Alexis is in excellent condition to play in the World Cup. Before the World Cup, it is impossible to discuss or analyse the player’s future."FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE!