Lionel Messi scored two goals in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Jamaica in a World Cup warm-up match in New Jersey on Tuesday. This was Lionel Messi’s 100th international win, and it brought Argentina closer to Italy’s world record unbeaten streak.
After coming on as a second-half substitute at the Red Bull Arena, Messi scored his 90th international goal, bringing his total to 164 games and 90 goals.
Messi’s goals were the icing on the cake for a big win for the South Americans, who have now gone 35 games without losing, dating back to 2019. They are only two games away from Italy’s world record of 37 games without losing, which they set between 2018 and 2021.
Messi also scored twice in a friendly win over Honduras in Miami on Friday. In the 56th minute, he replaced Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan and gave the crowd a thrilling performance.
In the 86th minute, he scored his first goal of the night. He ran forward and then slid a shot past Jamaica’s goalkeeper, Andre Blake, into the bottom corner.
The 35-year-old seven-time Ballon D’Or winner then scored a sneaky second goal by curling a low shot under the Jamaican wall and into the bottom corner from a free kick.
When Messi showed up, the crowd went crazy. Three times, fans ran onto the field to get close to the Argentine star.
One shirtless fan tried to get Messi to sign his back, but security staff threw him to the ground.
Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina played well again, and Messi’s late double was the cherry on top. Argentina is quickly becoming one of the favorites to win the World Cup in Qatar in November.
In a one-sided first half, the Argentinians were in charge. Martinez tricked Jamaica’s Damion Lowe and passed the ball to Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez, who scored with a low shot from close range.
Soon after, Alvarez almost got a second, but his shot went just wide.
Guido Rodriguez, a midfielder, also came close, but his volley at the back post went over the bar instead of into the goal.
In the 33rd minute, Giovani Lo Celso also came close to scoring with a long-range shot that went just wide of the top corner.
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