Lionel Messi has no shortage of stunning achievements in his award-winning career.
The 35-year-old eclipsed another individual milestone on Thursday when he notched the fastest goal of his professional career in Argentina’s clash against Australia, according to South America football’s governing body, CONMEBOL. Only 79 seconds into the match, Messi was near the edge of the box when he wrapped a beautiful strike off his left foot, putting the La Albiceleste on the scoreboard first.
With Messi’s goal on Thursday, which helped Argentina to secure a 2–0 victory at Workers’ Stadium in Beijing, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has registered goals in every minute of a match except for the first minute. The soccer legend has scored the most goals (16) of his career in the 87th minute, according to Gracenote Live.
🚨 MESSI GOLAZO 🚨
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) June 15, 2023
2 minutes into the game and Messi does what he does best. 💫
Stream the game for FREE on the @CBSSports app and @PlutoTV 📺 pic.twitter.com/iJdAI0Cbj9
Messi’s goal also marks another strong performance for him against the Socceroos. In Argentina’s 2–1 victory against Australia in the 2022 World Cup, Messi landed a dazzling goal to help the club secure the win.
Messi finished second among scorers at the World Cup, notching seven goals and registering three assists to help his country win the ’22 World Cup title. His latest brilliance on the field comes after the star told Titan Sports that he will most likely not help his country defend its title in the ’26 World Cup.
“I don’t think so,” Messi said. “This was my last World Cup. I’ll see how things go, but in principle, no, I won’t go to the next World Cup.”
For now, Messi and Argentina will return to action on June 19 in a friendly against Indonesia in Jakarta.
