Lionel Messi’s tears at the start of the World Cup! Szymon Marciniak passed a difficult exam

When it comes to the performances of the Argentine national team, almost all fans’ eyes are on Lionel Messi. This is hardly surprising, since we are talking about a living football legend. In 2022, the Argentine achieved his goal by winning the most valuable trophy in national football – the World Championship. What’s more, Messi was voted MVP of the entire event. The title for Albicelestes made comparisons to Diego Maradona’s representative even more powerful.

Messi is Argentina’s hero! Great opening for the champions, good match for Marciniak

The 2026 World Cup became a record-breaking one for the captain of the world champions. And in several respects. It started with the performance of the Argentine, who was the first in the history of football (but not the last!) to record his sixth World Cup in his career as an active player. In addition to his international duties, Messi is currently playing in the USA, for Inter Miami.

But this is just the beginning. Messi scored a goal at the very beginning of the match, although at the first attempt – rightly, referee Szymon Marciniak, along with the rest of the Polish team – did not recognize the legend’s goal. The captain of the champions was in an offside position. To be precise, the Algerians also opened the scoring a moment later. In this situation, also for centimeters, but offside.

However, the former FC Barcelona star did not intend to stop there and continued to try. Messi achieved his goal in the 17th minute. The Argentine shot from outside the penalty area (a beautiful assist by Rodrigo de Paul), and the ball passed through the hands of Luka Zidane and into the net. The Algerian goalkeeper is the son of the French football star, Zinedine Zidane, among others. world champion in 1998.

What’s completely amazing is that the goal scored by Messi was scored on June 16 (according to the time zone in the USA), which is exactly… 20 years after the Argentine’s goal in his first World Cup in his career. Little? Messi became the oldest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup, aged exactly 38 years and 357 days. And this was supposed to be just the beginning of the show performed by the legend.

Television cameras showed how Messi was not ashamed of tears of emotion after the goal. It was obvious how much this opening of the tournament meant to him. Possibly the last of the most important in a very rich career.

The Argentine put on a real show in the second half of the match. He added two more to his number 14 goal in the history of his World Cup appearances. Thus, Messi equaled the best in this respect, Miroslav Klose. The German representative with Polish roots boasts 16 goals.

It does not seem that his record will survive, thanks to Messi, but also to Kylian Mbappe, who is in equally good shape. The Frenchman also has 14 goals, he added two in the Tricolors’ opening win against Senegal (3-1).

But even the French captain, much younger than Messi, could not compare to the Argentine’s achievement. Three goals in the opening game, at the age of almost 39? Something AMAZING!

On that day, the Algerians could only look at what the great Messi and his colleagues were doing. It seems that the Albicelestes are eager to make a successful attempt to defend their championship title. There is no doubt that they sent a strong signal to all competitors.

Let us also add the successful performance of judge Marciniak. It is true that in one or two situations he could have whistled a foul or given a card – even to Messi himself (even he should have) – but he was certainly not an important character of the show. And that’s just a compliment. However, the World Cup exam was not easy, because, as in the case of football players, the first meeting is important. Who knows, maybe this will be a positive omen, heralding a good rating for the Pole from FIFA and more matches on the horizon.

World Cup 2026. Where and when to watch the greatest football World Cup in history?

From June 11 to July 19, the 23rd FIFA World Cup will be held on pitches in three countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada. An event that will certainly be unique, if only because of its format. For the first time in history, as many as 48 teams will take part in the main tournament.

The title from four years ago is defended by the Argentines. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Lionel Messi and company defeated the French in the final, winning after a series of penalties (4:2). In the history of football World Cups, Brazil has the most titles – as many as five. Four victories in the history of the World Championships belong to the Italians and Germans. The Argentines won three times. More than once, the trophy for winning the World Cup was raised – twice – by the players of France and Uruguay.

The Polish national team was third twice at the World Championships, but those were the old days – we are talking about the events in 1974 and 1982. At the last World Cup, Poles managed to advance to the knockout phase, but were eliminated in the 1/8 finals by the French (1:3).

Matches of the 2026 World Cup can only be watched on Polish Television – on TVP Sport, TVP 1 and TVP 2 and on tvpsport.pl. Additionally, broadcasts will be available in the TVP Sport mobile application and smart TV.