The Argentine team beat him this Tuesday by 3-0 to Iceland in his last friendly before his debut in the 2026 World Cup, where he will defend the world title achieved four years ago in Qatar.
With goals from Valentín Barco (8th minute), Lionel Messi (71′, penalty) and Thiago Almada (86′)the ‘Albiceleste’ closed its preparation for the World Cup at the Jordan- Hace Stadium in the city of Auburn, which suffered a rain storm in the hours before the duel.
The match began with an alternative team for the ‘Albiceleste’, which in the second half saw the entry of most of its starters, including Lionel Messiwho returned to play after the injury suffered in Inter Miami’s last game.
At the beginning of the match, Argentina dominated and opened the scoring in the 8th minute, when a rebound led to Valentín Barco, who with a shot from the edge of the area achieved the goal. 1-0.
After the goal, Argentina maintained control of the ball but lacked precision to extend the advantage against an opponent without many offensive options.
At the beginning of the complement, Lionel Scaloni made six tactical changesincluding the entry of Cristian Romero and the reorganization of the midfield with Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo De Paul.
In the 69th minute Lionel Messi returned, and just a minute later he was the protagonist by enabling Lautaro Martínez, who was brought down by goalkeeper Ólafsson. Referee Rosendo Mendoza awarded a penalty, which Messi converted for the 2-0.
With this goal, the player from Rosario reached a historic record by becoming the oldest player to score with the Argentine National Teamwith 38 years, 11 months and 14 dayssurpassing a mark by Ángel Amadeo Labruna.
The previous record belonged to the historic River Plate forward, who had scored his last international goal in 1957 against Brazil at the Maracaná.
The closing of the game came in the 86th minute, when Thiago Almada signed the final 3-0 after a combination with Messi and Lautaro Martínez.
After these friendlies, Argentina will concentrate in Kansas City to prepare for its debut in Group J of the World Cup against Algeria, along with Austria and Jordan. Iceland, for its part, will begin its journey in the UEFA Nations League against Estonia.