Haaland dropped a message from cheeky Messi as Argentina remain unbeaten at the World Cup

Erling Haaland’s latest take on Lionel Messi has got people talking. The Norway forward, who led his country to the knockout stages in the first World Cup appearance of his career, released a message about the Argentina captain after their final group stage match of the tournament.

Lionel Messi turned a routine Argentina victory into a piece of World Cup history again on Sunday (June 28) when he came off the bench to score in his seventh World Cup match. The goal also extended his tally to 19 World Cup goals – the most in the history of the tournament.

Messi, who was introduced around the hour mark, curled a low free-kick past goalkeeper Jordan Abulaila, who was in top form up to that point. Haaland reacted to the goal by saying that as long as Messi stays in the tournament, he has little hope of winning the World Cup Golden Boot.

Haaland was in sensational form in his first appearance at the World Cup, scoring four goals in two games. He was rested for Norway’s final group stage match against France after the team had already secured qualification for the knockout rounds.

THE UNDENIABLE LIONEL MESSI OFFENSIVE AGAIN

Rested at the start after Lionel Scaloni made nine changes to his line-up, Messi watched as Argentina took control of Jordan through Giovani Lo Celso’s free-kick and Lautaro Martinez’s penalty – notably Argentina’s first goals of the tournament not scored by their captain.

With the game in control and Argentina comfortably in the lead, Messi was introduced just after the hour mark. His arrival immediately changed the pace. Even without the need to dominate possession, the 39-year-old became the focal point of Argentina’s attack, drawing defenders, opening up spaces and speeding up Argentina’s transitions in the final third.

His moment came in the 80th minute.

Messi won a free-kick in a familiar area outside the box, stepped up and curled his effort into the net to make it 3-1 and continue his extraordinary scoring streak. The goal took him clear of the record shared by France great Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho to become the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup games.

The strike also took Messi to six goals at the tournament – the most by any player so far – and cemented his position as Argentina’s central attacking force despite a carefully managed workload.

Perhaps most remarkably, Messi achieved all this in a limited cameo. Scaloni later revealed that his captain could have played the entire match but opted to give his teammates minutes and conserve energy for the knockout rounds – another sign that Argentina are balancing their title pursuit while keeping their biggest weapon fresh.

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Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

28 Jun 2026 14:20 IST