Happy Birthday "Messi": A message after Argentina's surprise at the 2026 World Cup.
On 24 June 2026, Lionel Messi, the star captain of the Argentina national team, posted a photo on his personal Instagram story celebrating his 39th birthday during the 2026 World Cup in the United States.
Lionel Messi recently made history at the 2026 World Cup by becoming the all-time top scorer in World Cup finals, after scoring two goals in Argentina's 2-0 group stage win over Austria on Monday, 22 June.
This brought Messi's total to 18 goals, surpassing the previous record held by Germany's Miroslav Klose, who scored 16, and also putting him ahead of France's Kylian Mbappé, who increased his tally to 16 after scoring twice in France's 3-0 win over Iraq in Group I's second match.
Recently, Lionel Messi was surprised with a birthday celebration by his Argentina teammates and coaching staff, who brought a birthday cake to his hotel room. He shared a photo on his story featuring Rodrigo De Paul, Lisandro Martínez, Leandro Paredes, Nicolás Otamendi, Giovani Lo Celso, and Nahuel Molina.
Messi also wrote a thank you message to his Argentina teammates on his story: "We started last night with a very impressive surprise. Thank you so much!!"
Argentina has secured a place in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup as Group J champions, but still has the final group match against Jordan on Saturday, 27 June.
*Photo credit: Instagram: leomessi
