Argentina closed its last World Cup warm-up with a 3-0 win over Iceland in Auburn, and Lionel Messi turned a cautious return from injury into the night’s defining moment. He came on in the 69th minute and scored a penalty two minutes later, giving Argentina the kind of finish it wanted on the eve of the tournament.
The goal mattered beyond the scoreline. Messi, 38 years, 11 months and 14 days old, became the oldest player to score for Argentina, breaking a mark that had stood since Ángel Amadeo Labruna scored his final international goal on July 7, 1957, against Brazil at the Maracaná at 38 years, 9 months and 8 days. For a team that had been waiting to see whether its captain would be ready after a recent injury in Inter Miami’s last match against the Philadelphia Union, the appearance was as important as the penalty.
Argentina did not need long to settle the game. Valentín Barco opened the scoring in the eighth minute, and coach Lionel Scaloni used six changes in the second half, bringing on Cristian Romero, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo De Paul among them. By the time Messi arrived, the match had already tilted Argentina’s way, but his entrance changed the mood in the stadium and in the larger question hanging over the team’s World Cup plans.
Two minutes after entering, Messi helped create the penalty by finding Lautaro Martínez, who was fouled in the area. He took the spot kick himself and scored, then later linked with Martínez again in the move that ended with Thiago Almada finishing Argentina’s third goal in the 86th minute. It was the sort of brief but decisive cameo that can ease anxiety, even if it does not answer every question about how much of the tournament he can handle after the injury.
That uncertainty still hangs over Argentina, even with the win and the record. The defending champion finished its final test with its captain on the field and on the scoresheet, but the team has not said whether Messi will start against Algeria. What is certain is that Argentina opens its World Cup in Kansas City next Tuesday, carrying both a 3-0 tune-up win and the sight of its oldest scorer back in rhythm at exactly the moment it needed him most.
