Messi finished a pass from Rodrigo De Paul, shifting onto his left foot and firing a long-range shot past goalkeeper Luca Zidane, son of French legend Zinedine Zidane. The goal was Messi's 14th at a World Cup, drawing him level with Mbappé, who had moved ahead earlier in the day with a brace against Senegal at New Jersey/New York Stadium.
A Goal Filled With History
By taking the field before Cristiano Ronaldo in this tournament, Messi became the first player ever to appear in six FIFA World Cups. He also joined the Portuguese icon as one of only two players to score in five different editions of the competition.
Messi has now scored at Germany 2006, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, Qatar 2022, and the 2026 World Cup. The only edition in which he failed to find the net was South Africa 2010. At 38 years and 357 days old, he also became the third-oldest player ever to score at a World Cup, trailing only Roger Milla (42 years, 39 days) and Pepe (39 years, 283 days).
Achieving Something No One Else Has
The Algeria goal made Messi the only player to have scored against 11 different national teams at the World Cup, surpassing the previous mark of 10 shared by Ronaldo Nazário and Jürgen Klinsmann.
His World Cup victims are:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- The Netherlands
- Saudi Arabia
Messi scored exactly 20 years after his World Cup debut. He first appeared on football's biggest stage on June 16, 2006, at the World Cup in Germany, where he marked his debut with a goal against Serbia.
