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."
He scored that emotional first goal in the opening minutes on a nifty feed from Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, the second off an opportunistic rebound early in the second half, and the third on a trademark clinical left-foot strike moments before being subbed out to a standing ovation from a crowd of 69,045
"At a loss for words about Leo. What can I say?" Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. "He's incredible."
His incredible trio of goals came 20 years to the day that Messi made his World Cup debut in a match against Serbia and Montenegro — he scored in that one, too — and made him only the second player to score in five editions of the men's tournament.
The hat-trick was the 61st of Messi's career, his 11th while playing in his national team colours and his first in the World Cup. It was also the fifth-straight World Cup game in which he'd scored.
"It makes me very happy to have lived through everything that came my way. What I'm living though now is the cherry on top," Messi said. "I'm very happy and grateful for this wonderful group. I enjoy it so much."
"Messi is a madman," Norway superstar Erling Haaland, who'd earlier scored twice in the 4-1 win over Iraq, said in a post on Snapchat during Argentina's game.
Messi had been dealing with a minor hamstring injury with Inter Miami that slowed him in the lead-up to the World Cup, but he shrugged: "I still feel like I'm in good shape." Actually, he looked nigh-on perfect.
Messi's appearance against Algeria was his 200th cap for Argentina, stretching over 21 years.
"It's an advantage to have Leo because of how he handles the group and pushes it forward. Because of who he is," De Paul said. "He doesn't care about individual records. He prioritises the group -- and for us it's incredible."
