Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni confessed he is at a complete loss for words when asked to describe Lionel Messi's latest masterclass, after the captain's hat trick powered Argentina to a 3-0 victory over Algeria in their World Cup opening match.

The result announced Argentina's arrival at the tournament in emphatic fashion, with Messi delivering a performance that left even his own manager struggling to find adequate praise.

Scaloni, who has guided Argentina to remarkable heights since taking charge of the national side, said the record-setting display from his captain simply defied description — a sentiment familiar to anyone who has watched Messi perform at the highest level for two decades.

The hat trick adds another milestone to Messi's ever-growing list of records, further cementing his status as one of the game's all-time greats. For Algeria, the defeat represents a difficult start to their World Cup campaign, with the gulf in individual quality on full display across the 90 minutes.

Argentina will take enormous confidence from the performance heading into the next stage of the competition, with Messi showing no signs of slowing down on the grandest stage of all.