A hat-trick decades in the making

Few achievements had eluded Messi during his extraordinary career.

World Cup winner. Eight-time Ballon d’Or recipient. Argentina’s most-capped player and leading scorer.

Yet until Thursday, a World Cup hat-trick had never featured on that list.

That changed when the Argentine maestro completed a memorable treble against Algeria, producing another masterclass on football’s biggest stage.

His third goal was vintage Messi.

The move began near the centre circle, where Messi glided past challenges before releasing Nico Gonzalez on the left flank. The substitute returned the ball to his captain on the edge of the penalty area and the outcome felt inevitable.

Messi curled a precise low effort into the bottom corner, sending Argentina supporters into celebration and completing a historic hat-trick.

The goal carried significance far beyond the result.

Messi’s hat-trick elevated him to the top of the World Cup scoring charts alongside Klose, whose record had stood untouched since Germany’s triumph in Brazil in 2014.

The record once appeared out of reach. Now Messi has matched it and could soon surpass it.

With Argentina guaranteed at least two more group-stage matches and potentially several knockout fixtures, the opportunity to become the tournament’s outright leading scorer remains firmly within reach.

Another chapter in a remarkable World Cup journey

Messi’s relationship with the World Cup has spanned two decades.

He made his debut as a teenager in Germany in 2006, lifted the trophy in Qatar in 2022 and has now become the joint-highest scorer in the tournament’s history at the 2026 edition in North America.

The latest achievement also continued an extraordinary scoring streak. Messi has now scored in six different World Cups and remains one of the most influential players in international football despite being in the twilight of his career.

His latest display once again highlighted the qualities that have defined his greatness — close control, vision, composure and an ability to decide matches in moments.

Mbappe remains in the hunt

While Messi has caught Klose, the race for World Cup scoring supremacy may not be over.

France forward Kylian Mbappe is currently on 14 World Cup goals and remains one of the leading contenders to challenge the record during the tournament.

For now, however, the spotlight belongs to Messi.

For years, Klose’s tally of 16 goals stood alone atop the World Cup record books.

Now it has company.

And if Messi’s opening performance is any indication, the record may not remain shared for long.

The training team of Ben, Will, and J D Hayes at Lindsay Park is optimistic about capitalising on the current form of their stayer at Flemington.

The Western Front is scheduled to participate in a 2500m handicap race this Saturday, aiming to extend his streak of consistent performances.

This New Zealand-bred gelding achieved a victory in the Listed Sandown Cup (3200m) on May 31 and will be targeting his fifth win of this preparation on Saturday.

The Western Front began his campaign in January, finishing fourth in two 1600m contests at Flemington and Pakenham before finding winning form over 2025m at Cranbourne.

A subsequent journey to Sydney preceded The Western Front’s victories over 2400m at Caulfield and then 2500m at Flemington, both occurring in April.

The gelding’s performance in the Listed Andrew Ramsden (2800m), where he finished sixth, could be perceived as his weakest run based on the results.

However, J D Hayes clarified that the stable was far from disappointed with the effort, a sentiment later vindicated by his win in the Sandown Cup.

The horse that finished second at Sandown, Zibulon, has since gone on to finish second in the Brisbane Cup (3200m) last Saturday. In the Andrew Ramsden, the runner-up Pounding subsequently ran second in the Q22 at Eagle Farm.

“He was quite good in the Andrew Ramsden at set-weights as he was giving a lot of weight away,” Hayes said.

“He’s rock hard fit, he stays well.

“Ideally, we would love to stay at 3200 (metres), but this was the next option in Victoria, and he’s shown that he has trained on beautifully.”

Hayes indicated that no specific future targets have been set for The Western Front at present, but while the gelding is performing well, he will continue to race through the winter season.

Potential upcoming races include the Banjo Paterson Series Final (2600m) at Flemington on July 4 and the Deane Lester-Flemington Cup 1849 (2800m) two weeks later.

“The remaining staying races through the winter are possibilities and then be the fit horse in the early part of the spring,” Hayes said.

“We’ll go run by run, but the plan is not to stop and hopefully he can be a bit of an ATM.

“They win more money in work than out of work.”

Considering The Western Front’s excellent staying form, exploring online bookmakers for competitive racing odds is advisable.

A multi-time world champion returned to the WWE ring tonight. They wrestled their first match for the company in three months.

The latest edition of WWE NXT saw Natalya (aka Nattie) lock horns with Jaida Parker in a singles match. After suffering a series of losses, Parker was recently confronted by The Low-Key Legend on the black-and-silver show. The former Women’s Champion called the upstart “soft”, marking the beginning of their rivalry.

Last week, Jaida Parker showed up uninvited at Nattie’s Dungeon 2.0 and brutally attacked her in front of her students. She made a huge statement, setting up a one-on-one match between the two on tonight’s NXT. The bout marked Nattie’s return to the WWE ring for the first time since March 16, 2026.

The Low-Key Legend defeated her former mentee, Maxxine Dupri, in a singles match on Monday Night RAW in March. She returned to the squared circle at GCW Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV, where she bested former NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler by count-out.

Nattie continued her winning streak on this week’s NXT. Jaida Parker brought the fight to the veteran, but couldn’t defeat her. In the final stages of the contest, the 44-year-old locked in the Sharpshooter on Parker, forcing her to tap out.

Being a true heel, Nattie didn’t release the vicious submission hold despite winning the match. The referee had to step in and stop the veteran from inflicting more damage on the rising NXT star.

The former Women’s Champion has been a force to be reckoned with since turning heel on WWE TV. She embraced her dark side in January 2026 on an episode of RAW. Nattie backstabbed Maxxine Dupri and cost her a Women’s Intercontinental Championship match against Becky Lynch. The betrayal led to a series of matches between the Canadian superstar and Dupri.

Fans must stay tuned to find out what’s next for Nattie following her dominant win over Jaida Parker.