Alabama, June 10 (IANS) Football great Lionel Messi made a great return from injury with a stunning goal as the defending champions Argentina registered a dominating 3-0 win over Iceland in their last warm-up match ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, commencing on Thursday.

Competing against a strong team, Iceland showed great character at the start and almost created a goal-scoring opportunity, but Mikael Ellertsson missed the post from close range, which proved to be crucial in the match.

Argentina, however, returned to their best as Valentin Barco scored the first goal of the match from outside the box in the eighth minute to give the team an early lead.

After the early lead, Argentina tested Iceland’s defence throughout the first half but failed to score another goal as the scoreline was 1-0 at half-time.

Argentina’s coach rang in big changes at the start of the second half as Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez were brought in as substitutes, which increased the team’s attacking strength.

Despite the changes, the defending champions were still unable to convert their chances, but things changed in a couple of minutes when their star player, Messi, was finally brought onto the field after starting the match on the bench.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner didn’t take much time showing the world his great form. The 38-year-old made an immediate impact with his incisive pass leading to Lautaro Martinez winning a penalty. Messi then calmly converted from the spot in the 72nd minute to double Argentina’s lead and score his 117th international goal.

Thiago Almada later completed the scoring in the 86th minute, finishing off a well-worked move involving Messi and Martinez that dismantled Iceland’s defence.

With this win, Argentina head into the multinational tournament with winning momentum and a fit Messi on their side.

Argentina begin the defence of their World Cup crown against Algeria on June 16 before facing Austria and Jordan in Group J.

–IANS

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