Even with less Messi, Argentina gave Arlington a World Cup show unlike any other

Some may remember that when Lionel Messi made the seismic jump from European club football to Major League Soccer in Miami in 2023, it was North Texas that hosted Messi’s first road match. And right on cue, soccer’s all-time greatest player left his mark on Frisco when he nailed home a majestic free kick to help secure a win against the home team. 

On Saturday night, Arlington hosted Messi again, but this time it was for his first match as the all-time leading goal scorer in World Cup history. You don’t have to think back too far to remember that he broke the record on Monday at AT&T Stadium too. 

It may seem like old news to note that Messi has yet another record, but that’s what he has done for more than two decades – made the impossible seem all too possible. Unfortunately for many hoping to get an extended look at the great, however, Messi’s 39-year-old body got a bit of a break. With Argentina already clinching the top spot in their group, Messi did not start the match, but still managed to produce fireworks. 

Initially, it didn’t seem as though a Messi-less lineup was much of an issue for “Hinchas Argentinas,” the throng of Argentine fans who, at the start of the match, at least, sang, chanted and beat drums louder than even the impressive Ultras Nippon on Japan had in the same stadium in the previous days. But soon enough, that fervor died down as the match got off to a slow start from both sides. 

In all fairness, the Argentinian club, wearing their dark blue kits on Saturday as opposed to their globally-recognized light blue and white striped option, is more than Messi. 

In 2022, Argentina won its third World Cup, and sure, it’s safe to say that would not have happened without their leader, a Messi-free Argentina is still one of the better squads in the world. But, in fairness to Messi, his club lacked spark early in the first half, although a gorgeous free kick goal from just outside the box helped make up for that and so did a successful penalty kick a few minutes later to extend Argentina’s lead over Jordan to 2-0. 

Saturday night’s sold-out contest in front of 70,639 offered fans yet another chance to engage in what might be the most exhausting and impossible-to-answer sports question of all time – should a team that’s guaranteed to make it to the next round, or to the playoffs, sit their stars to rest, or should they keep them in the lineup for morale, momentum and to prevent rust from building up? 

The U.S. lost its Thursday match against Turkey (Türkiye) after keeping several of its top players on the bench, for example. In that case, stars including Chris Richards and Folarin Balogun were benched to prevent them from being suspended for the round of 32 match thanks to having been issued yellow cards earlier in the tournament. Injured No. 10 Christian Pulisic was brought in as a late sub to both prevent further injury from playing too much, but to gain enough field time so that he wouldn’t potentially go multiple weeks without playing. 

On Friday, France obliterated a Norway squad that featured its two top stars, Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, on the bench for the entire match, something that riled up plenty of fans and commentators who felt cheated out of what should have been a marquee match up of giants in the group stage. 

But, again, this is Messi we’re talking about. He scored his first World Cup goal 20 years ago, and as one of the oldest players in the tournament, he’s displayed enough motor to still sit atop the race for the Golden Boot, awarded to the top goal scorer at each World Cup, so any argument that he might grow rusty or that his team might lose momentum without his for a spell is pretty hollow. Besides, Messi played on Saturday, hopping onto the pitch during the 59th minute, just after Jordan scored to cut Argentina’s lead in half, 2-1. 

Guess what? Twenty minutes after coming in, Messi curled a free kick from just beyond the penalty arc past the defenders and goalkeeper, who seemed to not even see the ball as it went by him. It was impossible to not recall that stunning strike from three years ago in Frisco. The goal also netted Messi another record, as he’s the first person to ever score in seven consecutive men’s World Cup matches. No big deal – the record of six consecutive World Cup matches with a goal had only stood for 56 years.

That bit of magic made the score 3-1 and set the Argentine free with the most energetic songs and chants of the night. Those fans that went a little quiet early in the evening? They used their stored energy to electrify the concourses after the final whistle, deploying waves of light blue-colored jubilation that will be shared on social media for years to come, much in the way the flocks of orange-clad Dutch fans and the blue trash bag-toting Japanese fans have.

With the group stage now over, and five of AT&T Stadium’s nine matches complete, it’s a bit disorienting to think the 2026 World Cup is more than half over, but what a two weeks it has been in North Texas. Of all the host cities, the case can be convincingly made that Arlington hosted more exciting and impactful matches than any other host during the 2026 group stage. 

With four local matches remaining, including one of the two semi-final games on July 14, the soccer fun in North Texas, although already well underway, is far from over.