Can you believe that 10 years ago Lionel Messi actually quit Argentina’s national team?
Back then, he hadn’t managed to win a single international trophy. Each new tournament seemed to bring some fresh calamity—and 45 million Argentines wouldn’t let him forget it. So after losing the final of the 2016 Copa America in New Jersey, Messi decided that he was fed up with the pressure that came with wearing the sky blue and white. In a moment of utter exasperation, he announced that he would simply quit playing for his country .
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Group J – Argentina v Austria – Dallas Stadium, Arlington, Texas, U.S. – June 22, 2026 Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates after the match REUTERS/Issei Kato
Those 45 million Argentines can be glad that Messi soon changed his mind.
Since then, the player for whom the World Cup was a glaring hole in a glittering career has transformed into Mr. World Cup, alongside the likes of Pelé and Diego Maradona. Four years ago in Qatar, he completed his career arc by winning the competition for the first time. And on Monday here in Dallas, Messi became the tournament’s all-time leading goal scorer with both goals in a 2-0 victory over Austria. Messi’s total of 18—reached just days before his 39th birthday—is now two more than the previous record holder, the retired Miroslav Klose of Germany.
“I’m at a loss for words,” said his coach, Lionel Scaloni.
The irony is that once upon a time in Messi’s career, Argentina fans worried that they placed too much on the shoulders of their 5-foot-7 genius. They fretted over what they would ever do if they had to live without him. They called it Messidependencia , an overreliance on the GOAT—and this was a major problema.
Now, Messidependencia is Argentina’s entire identity. Through two games at this World Cup—a 3-0 stomping of Algeria and Monday’s 2-0 stroll—Messi has notched 100% of his team’s goals. Even though he will turn 39 later this week, he has now scored in six consecutive World Cup games dating back to Qatar. In fact, of the 125 goals Argentina has racked up since the Copa in 2016, Messi has contributed 40.
“People who watch football want to see him, it’s not just Argentines,” Scaloni said. “Beyond the result, we have to enjoy him. What he transmits to the world is incredible.”
And an entire squad is there expressly to help him do it. Argentina long ago abandoned any pretense of being a soccer workers’ collective, while Scaloni ditched any pretense that he was really in charge. The man with No. 10 on his back has veto power over all major decisions regarding the team, from player selection to tactics.
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Group J – Argentina v Austria – Dallas Stadium, Arlington, Texas, U.S. – June 22, 2026 Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Not that anyone in blue and white has any problem with this. Before Qatar, the team expressly played for Messi to deliver him the World Cup. Now they play for him, because of what Messi has given them.
“What I’m living through now is the cherry on top,” Messi said after the Algeria game. “I’m very happy and grateful for this wonderful group, I enjoy it so much.”
That group understands better than any other that everything must run through him. When Argentina won a penalty kick in the 12th minute, there was no question who would take it—never mind that he put it wide. But unlike the penalty kick Messi missed in North America 10 years ago in the Copa America, this one didn’t provoke a retirement tantrum. Instead, he just took over the game.
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Group J – Argentina v Austria – Dallas Stadium, Arlington, Texas, U.S. – June 22, 2026 Argentina’s Lionel Messi scores their second goal REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
He scored in the 38th minute from the edge of the penalty area after a teammate cleverly let the ball run through his legs to reach him. And in second-half stoppage time, Messi added another by collecting a stray ball and working through a crowd of Austrian defenders to hammer it home.
Argentina fans shook the concourse of AT&T Stadium and were still at it, bouncing up and down, an hour later. They had just witnessed another record-breaking performance by the man with more minutes, goals, and match victories than anyone in the 96-year history of the tournament.
They had also seen him break the one record that he will try to forget: Messi has now missed the most penalties at the World Cup, too.
Write to Joshua Robinson at [email protected]
