In his record sixth World Cup appearance, Messi became just the second player ever to score at five different tournaments, joining Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo. On his 200th cap for Argentina, he tied former Germany striker Miroslav Klose's record of 16 World Cup goals, doing so on the 20th anniversary of his first World Cup goal.
Messi opened the scoring in the 17th minute with help from Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul. The midfielder sent a long through ball for the legendary No. 10, who, with space near the edge of the box, blasted a left-footed shot into the upper right corner. At the hour mark, Messi was in the right place at the right time, tapping in goalkeeper Luca Zidane's rebound following a long-range effort from Alexis Mac Allister. In the 76th minute, Messi's left foot struck again to put the game away and reach his latest personal milestone.
Fortunately, I'm feeling well. We were lucky to win a difficult game. It's important to start by winning the first game. It's never easy to play the first game at a World Cup. The first half was hard for us, and luckily, we got the job done in the second half to make a big difference.
Messi, who guided La Albiceleste to their third World Cup title at Qatar 2022, now has 16 goals and 8 assists in 27 all-time World Cup appearances. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner enters this tournament in top form amid strong performances with Inter Miami, where he is the first back-to-back Landon Donovan MLS MVP with 12 goals and 8 assists in 14 appearances this season, a year after guiding the Herons to MLS Cup 2025 glory.
First of all, I'm thankful to the people because once again they've shown that Argentina is crazy. We filled another stadium, there were 80,000 people or more. Just thank them, thank them for the effort they make. Whenever and wherever, they always support us, the last one in Qatar, and now in the United States. I know that people make a big effort to come, so enjoy the moment, enjoy today, how we do things, and thank them. Because for us it's always an advantage to feel like the home team.
This summer, Messi is looking to become a back-to-back World Cup champion with Argentina. Only Italy in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil in 1958 and 1962 have achieved that feat. With 16 World Cup goals now tied to Klose's mark, he has a shot at adding all-time leading World Cup goal scorer to his resume.
Up next for Messi and Argentina is a June 22 showdown with Austria. They close out Group J action on June 27 against Jordan.
