Lionel Messi used the front of his blue-and-white, sweat-soaked jersey to wipe the tears from his eyes, a flood of emotions cracking his usual calm serenity after he gave Argentina an early lead in their World Cup opener against Algeria.
Then he scored again. And again.
Suddenly, any questions about Messi's hamstring injury, or whether he could help Argentina become the third team to win consecutive World Cups — even as his 39th birthday approaches next week — had been answered.
With a sublime hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Les Fennecs, Messi moved into a tie with Germany's Miroslav Klose for the all-time World Cup scoring record with his tally now on 16.
"My tears after the first goal? I've had some tough days. It wasn't related to football. And those feelings were because of that," Messi said, without elaborating. "I thank my teammates, the coaching staff and the delegation for helping me."
