Lionel Scaloni admits Lionel Messi's 'inexplicable' feats no longer a surprise

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/messi-lionel/vgOOdZbd/"]Messi[/a]'s hat-trick at ‌Kansas City Stadium saw him equal the all-time ‌men's World Cup scoring record of 16 ‌goals, drawing level with Germany's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/klose-miroslav/tO31cZrF/"]Miroslav Klose[/a].[/p][p]Earning his 200th cap, the 38-year-old became the first man to ‌compete in six World Cups and ⁠the oldest to ‌score a hat-trick in the tournament's history - exactly ​20 years to the day since his first goal on the global stage.[/p][p]While [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/algeria-nc87N1BR/argentina-f9OppQjp/?mid=UP9bEsOr"]​the victory[/a] was a boost to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a]'s hopes of successfully defending their title, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/scaloni-lionel/A1A2ibcF/"]Scaloni[/a] said ⁠there was no ​room for complacency.[/p][p][b]"This team knows that anyone can beat us,"[/b] he added. "[b]If you get a little overconfident, any opponent can win. In this ‌World Cup, strange and difficult things are happening. If we do things right it will be hard to beat us."[/b][/p][image alt="World Cup top scorers" id="82d1d0fa-2a91-41a5-ad21-ca6178de2cbb" credit-line="StatsPerform via Opta / Reuters" guid="c7859d37-2161-4c01-9133-9515ae450449" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Scaloni attributed the victory to the squad's chemistry, noting that the bond between teammates is what pulls them through when things become difficult.[/p][p]The result means Argentina have avoided the opening-match stumbles of ‌their 2018 and 2022 campaigns and they now ​turn their attention to their next match ‌against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/austria/naHiWdnt/"]Austria[/a] in Arlington, Texas on June 22.[/p][p][b]"There is a long way to go to try to reach the end,"[/b] Scaloni said. [b]"But it is always good to start ⁠by winning; that ⁠undoubtedly strengthens everything."[/b][/p]