Published on 08.09.2023
Lionel Messi delivered again for Argentina as they made a winning start to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
The star scored the only goal of the game in the 77th minute to give the world champions victory.
He was playing his first game in Argentina since leading his country to World Cup glory in Qatar.
Messi scored a free-kick winner as Argentina beat Ecuador 1-0 in their opening 2026 World Cup qualifier.
The world champions looked like they were set to be frustrated until Messi’s moment of brilliance, curling in with a free-kick in the 77th minute.
He afterwards said that “everybody wants to beat Argentina.”
“Now that we are world champions, even more,” he added.
“That’s why we can’t go down. We even have to go up a little more than we were doing. The demand in each game is maximum and, surely more and more.”
“We already knew it was going to be like this, especially because of the way the qualifiers are. We knew that it is very difficult to win, that they are all very close matches.
“Ecuador is a great team. They have been showing since the last qualifiers that they have very good players and are physically strong”. He added.
