Alexis Mac Allister helped Argentina to begin the defence of their World Cup crown with an emphatic 3-0 win over Algeria in the past few hours.
The 27-year-old was the last of the seven Liverpool players at the tournament to enter the fray, and he played his part on a night which saw Lionel Messi hit the first hat-trick of the 2026 finals, making him the joint-top scorer in World Cup history with 16 goals (alongside Miroslav Klose).
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The Reds midfielder played the full 90 minutes for Lionel Scaloni’s side as they made light work of their African opponents, avoiding the opening game ‘curse of the champions’ which has afflicted several previous holders of the trophy this century.
Mac Allister buoyant after Argentina victory
After the match, Mac Allister took to Instagram to revel in the result, with the featured image displaying him hugging the legendary Argentina captain on a history-making night in Kansas City.
Liverpool’s number 10 posted (translated from Spanish): ‘Important first step, huge effort by all. Thank you for accompanying me everywhere. Let’s go Argentina!’
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Mac Allister quietly impresses in Argentina win
Mac Allister came into the World Cup off the back of a difficult season at club level in which his performances levels declined drastically from 2024/25 and he was the subject of much criticism, and there has even been speculation that FSG could be prepared to offload him this summer.
However, he’ll have been pleased with his own contribution to Argentina’s win over Algeria, as reflected in the figures below from Sofascore.
Passes completed 60/64 (94%)
Possession lost 5 times from 74 touches
Interceptions 2
Shots on target 1
Key passes 1
Tackles won 1
His performance came in for widespread praise among Liverpool fans on social media, with the 27-year-old showing a marked improvement from the latter weeks of the 2025/26 campaign at Anfield.
The World Cup holders will face considerably more taxing opposition as the tournament goes on, but when looking at how Spain failed to beat Cape Verde on Monday, a 3-0 victory over a decent Algeria side isn’t a result to be dismissed out of hand.
Hopefully Mac Allister can build on his bright start to the competition and then carry over a resurgence of form into the new club season once he’s back at Liverpool.
You can view the midfielder’s post below, via alemacallister on Instagram: