Of course, it’s Lionel Messi, who delivered Argentina’s first goal in the 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup.
At 38 years old, Lionel Messi continues to show the whole world that he still has it, as the face of Argentina football put his team up 1-0 against Algeria in a Group Stage match on Tuesday night at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Here is a video of that goal from the Inter Miami superstar:
IT’S ALWAYS MESSI!
Lionel Messi with an INCREDIBLE strike to put Argentina up 1-0
pic.twitter.com/bcRz4Qi1vk
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 17, 2026
Rodrigo De Paul surely deserves praise for his pass to Messi, who found himself with plenty of space to operate on his way to netting the reigning and defending World Cup champions’ first goal of the tournament.
Algeria seemed doomed as soon as Messi got the ball during that sequence, especially with all that space in front of him. There were Algerian defenders in front of Messi, but they gave him plenty of angles to get a clear look at goal, with Algerian goalkeeper Luca Zidane unable to stop the shot.
What made that goal sweeter for Argentina is the fact that an earlier strike from Messi was overturned because of an offside call.
As long as Messi is carrying his country’s colors, he will be Argentina’s main man, and he’ll continue to be his team’s top man to watch out for. It also seems that the former FIFA World Player of the Year is carrying over his scoring prowess from the South American qualifying to the World Cup. He topped his region’s qualifying with a total of eight goals.
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