'A great honour' — Messi opens up on surpassing Ronaldo after World Cup hat-trick

Messi ran the show, scoring a hat-trick to take him joint level with Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals, surpassing Ronaldo Nazário’s 15 goals in the process.

After the game, the soon-to-be 39-year-old reflected humbly on the milestone.

“It is a great honour to be able to compete with all these greats, including Ronaldo Nazario, among the players I have watched,” he said.

“He was one of the greatest players of all time.”

Messi opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a trademark long-range strike, added a second shortly after the hour mark, and completed his first-ever World Cup hat-trick in the 76th minute.

The masterclass not only powered Argentina to a commanding victory but also saw him become the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick, surpassing great rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

With Messi in this kind of form, Argentina look formidable in their quest for back-to-back titles, with their talismanic figure, aiming to end the competition as undoubtedly the greatest footballer of all time.