3-0 victory over Iceland
Messi’s spectacular comeback! A record and a stroke of genius
Argentine soccer fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Superstar Lionel Messi, who had recently been struggling with injuries, celebrated a spectacular comeback two days before the start of the World Cup during the defending champions’ successful World Cup warm-up match.
In Argentina’s 3-0 win over Iceland—a group-stage opponent of Austria’s—on Tuesday in Auburn, Alabama, the 38-year-old Messi came on as a substitute in the 70th minute. With a stroke of genius, he set up Lautaro Martínez after just 45 seconds, who was fouled by the Icelandic goalkeeper in the penalty area. Messi confidently converted the resulting penalty to make it 2-0. The other goals were scored by Valentin Barco (8th minute) and Thiago Almada (86th minute).
Messi had suffered a muscle injury on May 24; after his comeback and the commanding victory, he rallied the Argentine team and their fans to defend their World Cup title.
“Here we go, but together like never before,” he wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the victory over Iceland.
New record for Messi
For Messi, it was his 117th goal in his 199th international match for Argentina. And he added another to his impressive collection of records. The exceptional player is now also the oldest goalscorer in Argentina’s history. Messi surpassed Ángel Labruna, who had held the record since 1958.
He is expected to play his 200th international match on June 16 in Argentina’s first World Cup game against Algeria; on June 22, the World Champions will face the Austrian national team as their second opponent in Group J in Dallas.
The third group opponent is Jordan. For Messi, who captained Argentina to the title in Qatar in 2022, this will be his sixth World Cup appearance.
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