Lionel Messi Vows Passionate Pursuit at 2026 World Cup

Lionel Messi, the Argentine legend and captain of the national team, addressed supporters with a special promise before the kickoff of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where Argentina will defend the title they secured at the 2022 Qatar tournament.

Returning from injury, Messi led Argentina to a 3-0 victory over Iceland early Wednesday in the final friendly match before the 2026 World Cup, delivering a strong message about his physical readiness for the title defense campaign.

Messi, who missed the previous friendly against Honduras due to foot pain, was initially on the bench as coach Lionel Scaloni gave playing time to several reserve players in the last test before the tournament's start.

Upon entering the game in the 70th minute, Messi quickly made an impact, scoring the second goal from a penalty just two minutes later in the 72nd minute, after Lautaro Martínez earned a foul inside the penalty area.

With this goal, Messi increased his international tally to 117 goals in 199 appearances, further extending his records as Argentina's most capped player and leading scorer.

This milestone means Messi’s opening match against Algeria at the 2026 World Cup will mark his 200th international appearance, a historic event in his remarkable career.

Additionally, Messi set a new record as the oldest player to score for Argentina, surpassing a mark that had stood since 1957 by the late legend Ángel Labruna.

Labruna had scored against Brazil at the age of 38 years, 9 months, and 8 days, while Messi scored against Iceland at 38 years, 11 months, and 14 days, breaking the record after nearly seven decades.

Hours before the global tournament's start, Messi conveyed a message of reassurance and enthusiasm to fans: "As I said before, this group would not let the fans down or leave them halfway. I believe the team has already proven that, regardless of the opponent or the competition’s scale."

He added, "We are a group with a winning mentality, always striving for more. We will proceed step by step, but with great passion and enthusiasm, we will give our all. No one should doubt that we will exert our maximum effort as we have throughout this period. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we don’t, that is football."

Messi concluded, "In the end, the goal may or may not be achieved, but any opponent will find it very difficult against us because we are a competitive team that does not give up easily."

Continuing his pursuit of historical records, Messi raised his total career goals to 911 across club and international competitions.

The former Barcelona star is gradually approaching the 1,000-goal milestone in an extraordinary scoring race that has spanned many years, marked by direct competition with his historic rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 973 professional career goals.