IRVINE, Calif. — On Tuesday night at the United States men’s national team hotel in Laguna Niguel, the pressure of carrying a nation at a home World Cup faded into the background.
During a team dinner, players gathered around televisions to watch reigning champion Argentina open its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign against Group J opponent Algeria.
But by the end of the match, America’s best players looked less like World Cup competitors and more like kids watching their favorite superhero save the day.
That’s because the greatest player on the planet, Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, recorded his first-ever World Cup hat trick.
The soon-to-be 39-year-old Argentine maestro scored all three goals in a commanding 3-0 victory, drawing level with German legend Miroslav Klose atop the all-time World Cup goal scoring list with 16. Messi’s next strike will place him alone atop one of soccer’s most sacred records.
“Messi played really well and got a hat trick. Argentina continues to show they want to defend their trophy. We were enjoying being fans,” said left back Antonee “Jedi” Robinson, when asked if the team soaked in the moment together. “I think for the fans watching, obviously Messi’s probably the greatest footballer who’s ever lived. He’s still going, still showing quality. As a fan, it was amazing to watch.”
That word kept surfacing during the U.S.’s team media availability on Wednesday: fan.
Not opponent. Not rival. Fan.
Because even at a World Cup, where every player dreams of lifting the trophy themselves, there are moments when the sport’s biggest stars remind everyone why they fell in love with the game in the first place.
According to midfielder Brenden Aaronson, the admiration inside the U.S. camp became impossible to hide after Messi completed his hat trick.
“The fan boy comes out in us watching Messi score a hat trick,” Aaronson admitted. “But if Argentina does come around, we’ll all be ready to go. It’s fun to watch all these games.”
One can imagine the scene at dinner for Team USA. Forks paused in midair. Conversations interrupted and heads turning towards the television screen every time Messi touched the ball and danced through defenders with the same ease he’s displayed for the last six World Cups. A room full of soccer junkies suddenly transforming into adoring fans soaking in history.
That’s the power of Messi. That’s his magic.
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The irony, of course, is that many of those same U.S. players could eventually find themselves sharing a field with him later in this tournament. If the U.S. continue to play like they did against Paraguay last Friday, the knockout brackets could deliver a meeting between America and Argentina.
There will be no fan boys then.
Only the daunting task of stopping a legend who, at an age when most players have long since retired from international soccer, is still rewriting the record book and reminding the world why every World Cup eventually becomes part of his legacy.
But first, Australia on Friday in Seattle.