In the final friendly match before the 2026 World Cup on June 9, Lionel Messi helped Argentina beat Iceland 3-0.
Messi came on as a substitute in the 69th minute, replacing Giuliano Simeone. Three minutes later, the referee awarded Argentina a penalty following a foul by goalkeeper Elias Olafsson on Lautaro Martinez. The 38-year-old star took the responsibility and struck the ball into the top left corner to increase the lead to 2-0.
Messi extended his goalscoring record for Argentina to 117 goals. This achievement is only behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s international record of 143 goals for the Portugal national team.
The goal also helped dispel concerns that Messi’s playing time would be limited during the 2026 World Cup group stage. Previously, the Argentina captain had to miss the 2-0 victory against Honduras on June 6 due to a hamstring injury sustained at his club.
The final friendly match before the World Cup served as an opportunity for head coach Lionel Scaloni to test his lineup. In the first half, Argentina fielded only four 2022 World Cup champions: Geronimo Rulli, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Otamendi, and Exequiel Palacios. They opened the scoring in the eighth minute thanks to a long-range strike from Valentin Barco.
Argentina’s defense made a few mistakes that nearly resulted in conceding goals. If Mikael Ellertsson had not tapped the ball over the crossbar in front of an empty net in the third minute, Iceland could have taken the lead. Hakon Haraldsson also threatened the defending World Cup champions’ goal with a long-range shot that narrowly missed the post.
After the break, coach Scaloni consecutively brought on Lautaro Martinez, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Cristian Romero, Messi, Nicolas Gonzalez, Gonzalo Montiel, Rodrigo De Paul, and Thiago Almada. The introduction of these core players helped Argentina create more opportunities. In the 86th minute, following a through pass from Messi, De Paul crossed the ball for Almada to tap in, sealing a 3-0 victory.
Argentina has now extended their winning streak to six matches since October 2025. They will begin their World Cup title defense campaign with their Group J opener against Algeria (June 16), before facing Austria (June 22) and Jordan (June 27).
