France’s striker Kylian Mbappe admitted he is not surprised after Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick for Argentina in their opening clash of the World Cup against Algeria. Messi was at his absolute best against Algeria and became the joint highest goal-scorer (16) in the World Cup history along with Germany’s Miroslav Klose.

Messi became the first-ever player to feature in six World Cups during Argentina’s match on last Tuesday. The talisman scored from outside the box in the 17th minute to give an early lead to Argentina. His second goal was an easy tap in after Algeria’s goalkeeper Zidane failed to collect the ball cleanly whereas he scored another stunning goal in the 76th minute to complete his hat-trick.

“I already knew Messi was going to keep scoring goals,” Mbappé, 27, said. “He always does. He’s ahead of me and I’m behind him. I’ll keep scoring to help my national team go as far as possible.”

The French forward said he was not taken back by Messi’s performance against Algeria.

“It’s clear that Messi is the best in the world, and so is [Portugal captain] Cristiano [Ronaldo],” the France captain said. “For 16 years, he [Messi] has shown his extraordinary talent. I’m just trying to do what I know how to do: show my talent on the biggest stage possible and help my national team.

“When you score goals, you’ve got a better chance of going far, and I want to win the World Cup.”

Mbappe will make his 100th appearance for Les Bleus on Monday against Iraq in their Group I encounter in Philadelphia.

“Reaching 100 caps is a historic achievement, even more so if it happens at a World Cup,” the Real Madrid star said. “There’s nothing bigger than the national team.

“It’s going to be a special match for me, but we need to win to qualify.”