Messi's "Last Dance" Begins in Style

 Lionel Messi has rolled back the clock for Argentina, starting what many are calling his final World Cup campaign with a stunning hat trick against Algeria. The performance tied Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup goals record and sent Buenos Aires into celebration. At 39, Messi is proving the GOAT debate remains very much settled.

Goals: 3
Assists: 0
Games: 1

Why he will win it: This one is easy, as Argentina's opening game showed all you need to see. World Cup hat tricks are not an everyday occurrence, and Messi had one against Algeria, his first in World Cup history. He still gets to face Austria and Jordan in Argentina's final two group games, and a deep run to the final would give Messi a perfect chance to secure his first Golden Boot in this competition.

Why he won't: In truth, there are very few reasons to doubt Messi will end this tournament as the top scorer, but a couple stand out. The first is the luck of the draw: There is a realistic chance they could face Spain in the round of 32 after they drew with Cape Verde in their opener.

There is also the possibility that other players are just better scorers than him. Messi is still one of the best players on the planet, but at 38 -- he turns 39 on Wednesday -- he is no longer the best player on the planet. Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé both had better goals-per-minute ratios than him last season, and over the course of a long tournament, both would be obvious candidates to outscore him.

Remember, Messi has never won the Golden Boot -- Mbappé's final hat trick left him one ahead in 2022. Is Messi really going to win it during what we presume is his last dance?