Messi equaled two World Cup records just after opening the scoring in the match between Argentina vs Algeria.
Lionel Messi continues to affirm his legendary status in world football by scoring in Argentina’s 2026 World Cup opening match against Algeria. The star born in 1987 took only 17 minutes to create an explosive moment, helping the defending champions have a favorable start at the planet’s biggest football festival.
Messi’s goal came in a familiar fashion but still left fans in awe. Receiving the ball from the midfield area, the Argentine captain dribbled straight down the middle before unleashing a shot from outside the penalty area. The shot had tremendous curl and power, rendering the Algerian goalkeeper completely helpless. This is considered one of the most beautiful goals since the start of the 2026 World Cup.
According to statistics, this is already the fifth goal from outside the penalty area that Messi has scored in World Cups. This achievement helps him equal the record of Brazilian legend Rivellino, becoming the player with the most goals from distance in the tournament’s history since 1966. This further demonstrates the ability to create breakthroughs and the superior technical quality of the Argentine superstar even after turning 39.
Not only creating a masterpiece, Messi also raised his total number of goals at the World Cup finals to 16. This achievement helps him equal the number of goals of Miroslav Klose in the list of the best strikers in the tournament’s history.
Still playing at the 2026 World Cup, Messi completely has the chance to surpass Ronaldo and even compete for Klose’s number one spot if he continues to maintain his impressive goal-scoring form.
Most notably, the goal against Algeria also helps Messi go down in history by becoming the second player to score in five different World Cups. Before him, only Cristiano Ronaldo achieved this in the 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 World Cups. For his part, Messi has scored in the 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026 World Cups, continuing to add a memorable milestone to his great career.
