Lionel Messi Shines in Argentina's 3-0 Win Against Iceland

Lionel Messi needed barely a heartbeat.

Argentina’s captain stepped off the bench in Alabama, took his first touch, sliced Iceland open, won a penalty and then buried it himself as the world champions signed off their World Cup preparations with a composed 3-0 win in Auburn.

Messi’s cameo, same old ruthlessness

He had watched the chaos and the experiments from the sideline for 70 minutes, wrapped in a bib, the crowd of 88,000 glancing over every few seconds to see if he was moving. When he finally peeled away from the bench, the noise told its own story.

Messi, 38 and still the centre of everything, had missed the first friendly against Honduras as he nursed left hamstring soreness picked up with Inter Miami on May 24. Any lingering concern lasted about as long as it took him to receive his first pass.

He immediately threaded a throughball into the run of Lautaro Martinez. Iceland goalkeeper Elias Olafsson crashed into the striker. Penalty. No debate.

Messi stepped up, glanced once, and thumped the spot kick into the roof of the net. Goal number 117 for his country. Another number, another record nudged closer. His World Cup place is not in question; instead, the narrative now turns to history. When he appears at this tournament, he will join Cristiano Ronaldo as the first men’s players to reach six World Cups.

He wasn’t done. Drifting into pockets, dictating tempo, he slipped another clever pass into Rodrigo De Paul late on. De Paul squared, Thiago Almada tapped in. A simple finish, built on the vision that had just changed the game.

Scaloni shuffles the deck

Before the Messi show, this was Lionel Scaloni’s laboratory.

The coach left Messi, Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister on the bench, rolling out an experimental XI that mixed familiar names with players still fighting for minutes and relevance. It showed.

Iceland, compact and direct, should have stunned the stadium early. Mikael Egill Ellertsson found himself staring at an open goal and hammered over, a glaring miss that felt even bigger a few minutes later.

Argentina punished it.

A scrambled corner, bodies everywhere, Iceland unable to clear their lines. The loose ball dropped to Strasbourg defender Valentin Barco on the edge of the box. One touch to set, one crisp strike into the bottom corner. 1-0, and the tension in the stands dissolved.

The game opened up. Nico Paz, handed a chance to impress in Messi’s absence, buzzed around the final third but lacked the clinical edge. His big moment came before half-time, a fierce drive from close range that smashed straight into Olafsson’s face. The keeper knew little about it, but kept it out. Paz knew exactly what he had done: wasted a chance that might have changed his night.

Changes, woodwork and the waiting game

Scaloni moved quickly at the interval. Fernandez and Mac Allister came on among five half-time changes, and with them arrived a more familiar control in midfield.

Lautaro Martinez, also introduced at the break, set about bullying Iceland’s back line. He found space, he found angles, but not the net. Twice he struck the post when he looked certain to score, the kind of misses that draw groans even in a friendly.

The match drifted into that awkward phase friendlies often suffer: Argentina comfortable but not clinical, Iceland stubborn but short on ideas. The atmosphere dipped. The crowd wanted something else.

They wanted Messi.

When he finally jogged on for the final quarter, the entire tone of the evening shifted. Every touch drew a murmur, every run a ripple. Within seconds he had carved Iceland open for the penalty. Soon after, he was orchestrating the third.

By the final whistle, Argentina had what they came for: a clean sheet, three goals, no injuries, and their talisman looking sharp rather than rusty.

Iraq stumble as Venezuela strike

On the same night in Bridgeville, Illinois, another World Cup hopeful endured a very different rehearsal.

Iraq, returning to the World Cup finals for the first time in 40 years, slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Venezuela in their last warm-up game. It was a reminder of the step up that awaits them later this month.

Cristian Casseres set the tone early, pouncing in the 17th minute with a close-range finish to put the South Americans ahead. Right after the interval, he turned provider. Winning the ball in midfield, Casseres fed Jesus Ramirez, who drove at a defender, skipped past him and lashed in a powerful second.

Iraq’s night deteriorated further when forward Ali Youssef saw a straight red card in the 72nd minute, leaving them to chase the game with 10 men and no way back.

They now head to the tournament with history on their shoulders and questions to answer. Group I opens against Norway on June 17, with France and Senegal to follow. The margin for error will be brutally small.

Argentina, by contrast, leave Alabama with the familiar comfort of Messi in form, records beckoning, and the sense that for all the tactical tweaks and fresh faces, the road to this World Cup still runs through the left foot of their number 10.