Lionel Messi Shines in Argentina's 3-0 Victory Over Iceland
Lionel Messi needed barely a heartbeat to remind the world what awaits in June.
On a humid night in Auburn, Alabama, Argentina closed out their World Cup preparations with a 3-0 win over Iceland, and the 38-year-old captain turned a routine friendly into another personal milestone.
Messi steps on, game switches
He had sat, watched, waited. For 70 minutes, Lionel Scaloni kept Messi on the bench, the star still nursing the left hamstring soreness that had ruled him out of the weekend win over Honduras and cut short his final Inter Miami outing before the World Cup break.
The crowd of around 88,000 never stopped glancing towards the touchline. When he finally peeled off his bib, the noise told its own story.
His first touch changed the game’s tempo. Dropping into the pocket, Messi slipped a trademark throughball into the stride of Lautaro Martinez. Iceland goalkeeper Elias Olafsson rushed out and clattered into the striker. Penalty. No debate.
Messi picked up the ball, stared down Olafsson, then lashed his spot kick into the roof of the net. No stutter, no doubt. Goal number 117 for his country, and Argentina’s second of the night.
With that, any lingering questions about his World Cup readiness faded into the Alabama night. Barring a late twist, he will now walk into the tournament alongside Cristiano Ronaldo as the first men to appear in six World Cups.
Scaloni experiments, Barco seizes his chance
Before Messi’s entrance, this had been Scaloni’s laboratory.
Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister all started on the bench. In their place came an experimental XI that mixed fringe names with familiar ones in need of minutes, a final audition in front of a vast, expectant US crowd.
Iceland, though, should have ripped up the script inside the opening minutes. Mikael Egill Ellertsson found himself staring at an almost empty net and blasted over, a glaring miss that would haunt any competitive fixture.
Punishment arrived quickly.
A scrambled Argentina attack ricocheted around the Iceland box, defenders snatching at clearances, the ball never quite escaping danger. It fell kindly to Strasbourg defender Valentin Barco at the edge of the area. One touch to set, one to drive low into the bottom corner. Clinical, composed, and a timely reminder of Argentina’s depth at the back.
Nico Paz had a chance to underline his own credentials in Messi’s absence. He carved out a big opening before the interval, only to see his powerful strike smash straight into Olafsson’s face and bounce away. It summed up his night: bright positions, no breakthrough.
Changes, woodwork, and the inevitable roar
Scaloni did not wait long to refresh the experiment. At half-time, he sent on Fernandez and Mac Allister among five changes, with Lautaro Martinez also introduced to sharpen the attack.
The Inter forward immediately stretched Iceland’s back line and twice rattled the post when he should have put the game to bed. Argentina were on top, but the scoreline still carried a hint of risk.
The stands, though, had their minds on one thing. Every substitution delay, every break in play, drew another chant for Messi. The moment finally came in the final quarter, and the atmosphere shifted from friendly to occasion.
With Messi knitting moves together, Argentina’s third goal felt inevitable. This time he fed Rodrigo De Paul with a neat pass, the midfielder driving into the box before squaring for Thiago Almada to tap in. Simple finish, beautifully constructed move, all under the guidance of the captain who had been on the pitch barely 20 minutes.
Argentina walked off with a clean sheet, three goals, no injuries and their talisman sharp from the spot and slick in possession. For a team chasing back-to-back world titles, it was just about the perfect send-off.
Iraq stumble as Venezuela strike
Across the Midwest, another World Cup hopeful endured a very different evening.
In Bridgeville, Illinois, Iraq’s final warm-up ended in a 2-0 defeat to Venezuela, a result that cut through the optimism surrounding their first World Cup appearance in 40 years.
Venezuela struck early. In the 17th minute, midfielder Cristian Casseres pounced in the box and finished from close range, punishing hesitant defending and giving the South Americans control.
Any hope of a reset after the break evaporated almost instantly. Right after half-time, Casseres again proved decisive, winning the ball and driving forward before releasing striker Jesus Ramirez. Ramirez skipped past a defender and hammered a powerful shot beyond the goalkeeper to double the lead.
Iraq’s night deteriorated further on 72 minutes when forward Ali Youssef received a straight red card, leaving them to finish with 10 men and no way back into the contest.
They now turn towards Group I and a daunting return to the biggest stage: Norway on June 17, then France and Senegal. The margin for error will be far smaller than it was in Illinois.
