World Cup warm-up: Messi scores on return as Argentina win 3-0 against Iceland

Lionel Messi returned from injury with a goal as Argentina completed their World Cup preparations with a comfortable 3-0 win over Iceland on Tuesday in Auburn, Alabama.

The reigning world champions extended their winning streak to seven games and received a timely boost ahead of the tournament, with Messi making an immediate impact after coming off the bench in the second half.

Argentina’s first meeting with European opposition since the 2022 World Cup finals got off to a lively start. Iceland should have taken the lead in the opening minutes when Mikael Ellertsson found himself at the mercy of the goal but shot over from close range.

Miss turned out to be expensive. Argentina took advantage shortly after when Iceland failed to clear a deep free-kick. The loose ball fell kindly to Valentino Barca, who fired a first-time effort into the bottom corner past Elas Rafn Lafsson to give Lionel Scaloni’s side an early advantage.

Barco continued to trouble Iceland’s defense and almost turned the provider over midway through the first half. His perfectly balanced ball was released by Nico Paz, but the youngster was denied by lafsson at the near post as Argentina went into the break with a slim one-goal lead.

Scaloni rang the changes at half-time, bringing on Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez among the five substitutions. The changes increased Argentina’s attacking threat, but a second goal remained elusive.

Mac Allister rattled the woodwork just after the hour mark from Martnez’s clipped pass, while the Inter Milan forward hit the post twice as Iceland survived sustained pressure.

However, the audience’s attention was focused on Messi. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner started on the bench as he recovers from muscle strain suffered in Inter Miami’s win over Philadelphia last month.

When he finally entered the match in the closing stages, Messi needed only moments to leave his mark. His first hit was a defense-splitting pass that sent Martinez through on goal. The striker was brought down by Lafsson inside the box and Messi stepped up to send the resulting penalty into the top corner for his 117th international goal.

Argentina is not finished. Messi was again involved in the move that sealed the result when he picked out Rodrigo De Paulo whose low cross was converted by Thiago Almada from close range.

The win capped off a productive warm-up campaign for Argentina and, perhaps more importantly, confirmed Messi’s readiness for the tournament. The 38-year-old looked sharp during his brief appearance and showed no signs of discomfort ahead of what is set to be his sixth world championship.

Argentina will begin the defense of their World Cup crown against Algeria on June 16 before facing Austria and Jordan in Group J. Iceland, meanwhile, extended their unbeaten win streak to six matches and will not return to action until September.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

10 Jun 2026 09:10 IST