Throughout the last cycle up to the World Cup in North America, Argentine star Lionel Messi, aged 38, sometimes questioned his participation in the quadrennial FIFA (International Football Federation) national team tournament.
Protagonist in winning the Albiceleste’s third title four years ago, in Qatar, the Argentine is not only in shape again with his team to compete in another World Cup, but also remains, by far, the group’s main technical leader.
This Tuesday (16), in the current champions’ debut in the first game of group J, against Algeria, at the Arrowhead stadium, in Kansas City, Inter Miami’s left-handed striker scored four times — the first was disallowed — and was largely responsible for starting Argentina’s journey towards the fourth gold star on the chest on the right foot.
He is now, tied with the retired German Miroslav Klose, the top scorer in the history of World Cups, with 16 goals, with a good chance of reaching the isolated top of the list during Argentina’s campaign in the competition, in a dispute that promises to be fierce with Frenchman Kylian Mbappé.
The Argentines will face the teams from Austria and Jordan in the next two rounds, without much tradition in the sport.
With three balls in the net on an already historic night in the American Midwest city, Messi surpassed Ronaldo Nazário, who has 15 goals in World Cups, and Kylian Mbappé, who scored two in his team’s debut against Senegal also this Tuesday, reaching 14, the same mark as retired German striker Gerd Müller.
In a first round that featured the brilliance of much younger attackers, such as Mbappé himself, aged 27, and Norwegian Erling Haaland, aged 25, and who also scored twice in the 4-1 victory over Iraq, the almost forty-year-old Messi showed that he remains ambitious to once again be voted the best in the competition, as he was in 2022, and in the world.
Knowing the pressure of playing with a target on their back as the title holders, Argentina started the game by attacking the Algerian defense and scored by Luca Zidane, son of former French star Zinédine Zidane, after just three minutes, with a weak header from Lautaro Martínez in the middle of the opponent’s goal.
Just two minutes later, Messi appeared at the edge of the penalty area on the right and shot over the goalkeeper to score the first, but the goal was disallowed by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak — the same one who refereed the 2022 final against France.
In a frantic start, at 7, it was Algeria’s turn to scare the Argentine fans who were the vast majority of those present at the Arrowhead stadium, known as the noisiest in the United States. Midfielder Ibrahim Maza made a good move and found midfielder Chaibi, who hit Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez on the right. The referee canceled it again for offside.
At 16, Messi scored his second goal of the match, the first that counted. The 38-year-old Argentine star received a spectacular pass from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo de Paul, dominated at the edge of the penalty area and struck with a left wing, into the left corner of the opponent’s goal, with no chance of defense for Luca Zidane.
Back in the second half, Messi returned with the same disposition and made a great move down the right in the eighth minute, passing to Lautaro Martínez, who saved the Algerian goalkeeper well.
At 14, the star scored his third goal of the game, the second valid, taking advantage of a rebound from a shot by Mac Allister. He would find the net once again, in the 30th minute, with a low shot into the right corner of the Algerian goal.
Four minutes later, he was replaced by coach Lionel Scaloni by midfielder Nico Paz, highlighted by the Argentine media as one of his possible successors in the Argentine national team. As expected, he left the field applauded by the “hinchas” [torcedores] in the stands at Arrowhead.
In the next round, when Messi could become the greatest single scorer in the World Cup, Argentina faces the Austrian team, back in the tournament after 28 years, in Dallas, on the 22nd.
On the 27th, also in Dallas, participation in the group stage ends against Jordan, current runner-up in the Asian Cup and one of the four debutants in the World Cup.
Algeria faces Jordan on the 23rd, in San Francisco, and Austria, on the 27th, again in Kansas City.
