Argentina got its 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start thanks to yet another sublime Lionel Messi free kick. <\/p>\n
With the score still goalless after 78 minutes, Messi stepped up and curled a pinpoint effort over the defenders\u2019 wall, rooting Ecuador goalkeeper Hern\u00e1n Gal\u00edndez to the spot and making him just another spectator. <\/p>\n
It proved to be the winner in Argentina\u2019s 1-0 victory and the Inter Miami forward then received a huge standing ovation when he was substituted in the 89th minute. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that they are difficult matches in the qualifiers,\u201d Messi told reporters after the match. \u201cEcuador has very good players, they know what they are doing and they are very good physically. It was a very tough match, very physical. I was a little tired \u2013 that\u2019s why I was subbed \u2013 but I felt good. <\/p>\n
\u201cNot long ago, we were world champions, but it seems like a lot happened since then. We have to keep going, competing and qualifying for the next World Cup, take it game after game. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe showed in the friendlies we played and today in today\u2019s match for points that this group is not going to relax. Everyone wants to beat Argentina and now that we are champions, even more so.\u201d <\/p>\n
Messi\u2019s goal was his 29th in World Cup qualifying campaigns, equaling his old Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez\u2019s record. In total, Messi now has 104 goals in 176 games for the national team. <\/p>\n
While the Albiceleste<\/em> dominated possession, an organized Ecuador team \u2013 which will be expecting to qualify for the 2026 World Cup \u2013 stifled the home team\u2019s attack for much of the match. <\/p>\n However, there was no stopping Messi\u2019s moment of magic late in the second half. <\/p>\n The newly-expanded World Cup means the top six of the 10 South American teams are now guaranteed a place for the 2026 edition, with the country finishing in seventh entering a mini intercontinental playoff tournament to try and earn a spot. <\/p>\n Elsewhere on Thursday, Colombia also got its campaign off to a winning start with a 1-0 win at home to Venezuela, while Paraguay was held to a goalless draw at home to 10-man Peru. <\/p>\n The first round of fixtures continues on Friday, with Brazil hosting Bolivia and Uruguay welcoming Chile. <\/p>\n\n Argentina got its 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start thanks to yet another sublime Lionel Messi free kick. With the score still goalless after 78 minutes, Messi stepped up and curled a pinpoint effort over the defenders\u2019 wall, rooting Ecuador goalkeeper Hern\u00e1n Gal\u00edndez to the spot and making him just another <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":8048,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8047","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}