In Kansas City, Lionel Messi achieved a remarkable milestone by becoming the second player to score in five World Cups. He helped defending champions Argentina take an early 1-0 lead against Algeria on Tuesday night. The match was held at Arrowhead Stadium, with a sea of fans in blue and white cheering for their hero.
Messi, making his record sixth tournament appearance, overcame the Algerian defense to score his 14th World Cup goal against goalkeeper Luca Zidane. This accomplishment sent the crowd into a state of excitement.
Shortly before this goal, Messi had another attempt disallowed due to offsides. With this goal, Messi joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to score in five World Cups. Ronaldo first achieved this in 2022.
The record for the most World Cup goals is held by Miroslav Klose of Germany with 16 goals, just one more than Brazil’s Ronaldo. Messi’s latest goal ties him for third place on the career list. He shares this spot with Kylian Mbappé, who scored two goals for France in a 3-1 victory over Senegal earlier the same day, and Gerd Muller of West Germany.
This achievement comes exactly 20 years after Messi made his World Cup debut against Serbia and Montenegro. Despite dealing with a minor hamstring injury from playing with Inter Miami, the 39-year-old Messi showed no issues in a recent friendly match with Iceland, where he scored a penalty kick.
This match against Algeria marked Messi’s 200th international appearance since starting his career in 2005. Only Cristiano Ronaldo, with 229 matches, and Kuwait’s Bader al-Mutawa, with 202 matches, have more international appearances.
Ever since Argentina arrived in Kansas City, excitement around Messi has been palpable. On match day, many fans donned his No. 10 jersey and gathered at Arrowhead Stadium, while a watch party in the downtown Power & Light District featured a unique event. A live goat, symbolizing Messi as the “greatest of all time,” appeared on stage accompanied by former NFL quarterback Jameis Winston, all dressed in Argentina’s blue-and-white colors.
The debate over Messi being the greatest soccer player continues to diminish with each World Cup goal he scores.