KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lionel Messi registered his first World Cup hat trick and moved into a tie for first on the tournament's career scoring list in a brilliant performance against Algeria on Tuesday night. He led the defending champions to a 3-0 victory in their group-stage opener. Messi scored his first goal in the opening minutes, added a second early in the second half, and completed the hat trick moments before subbing out. The goals came 20 years to the day after his World Cup debut. Meanwhile, Argentina got off to a better start than the last World Cup, where it lost its opener to Saudi Arabia.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lionel Messi became the second player to score in five World Cups, giving defending champion Argentina an early 1-0 lead over Algeria. Making his record sixth appearance in the tournament, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner found a crease in the Algerian defense and easily beat goalkeeper Luca Zidane for his 14th World Cup goal, sending a blue-and-white-clad crowd packed inside Arrowhead Stadium into delirium. Moments earlier, Messi had a goal disallowed for offsides. Messi joins Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal as the only players with goals in five World Cups. Ronaldo became the first in 2022 and is set to play in his sixth World Cup on Wednesday.

The decision by beleaguered quarterback Brendan Sorsby to declare for the NFL supplemental draft has put the spotlight on the rarely used offseason process for making prospects who weren’t eligible for the primary draft available to the league at large. The last player taken in a supplemental draft was Arizona safety Jalen Thompson in 2019. Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter went to Philadelphia in the 1987 supplemental draft. It's a bidding process requiring a team to place a draft-round value on a player and thus forfeit that pick in the next year's regular draft if it's awarded the player.

The latest injury news surrounding USMNT star Christian Pulisic sounds decent ahead of their second Group D game against Australia in Seattle on Friday.

ATLANTA (AP) — Tiny Cape Verde pulled off a stunning result in its World Cup debut by holding heavily favored Spain scoreless in a 0-0 draw. An impressive performance by 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha helped Cape Verde deny a victory by one of the favorites to win the tournament. The result was the biggest shock of the World Cup so far. And it might have been even better for Cape Verde. Diney Borges had a late chance to score, but saw his header saved by Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon.

The NCAA has asked a Texas appeals court to stay a temporary injunction allowing Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby to play despite being declared ineligible for gambling. The Big 12 Conference also filed a federal lawsuit warning the Texas attorney general to stay out of the case. The NCAA seeks an emergency motion to stay the injunction, arguing it undermines college sports' integrity. Sorsby admitted to a gambling addiction, making thousands of bets, including on his own team. The Big 12 wants to enforce its bylaws for potential punishment against Sorsby, citing reputational risks.