Lionel Messi's first World Cup: Revisiting magical goal and stats from 2006 Argentina debut at age 18 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Before Lionel Messi was soccer's greatest-ever talent, he was a fresh-faced teenager attempting to find his way for two of the grandest institutions in the sports world: Barcelona and Argentina.
The World Cup's all-time leading goal-scorer first appeared in the global spectacle in 2006, turning up as a 17-year-old with dreams of dancing down the pitch in a manner similar to that of another famous Argentine foxtrotter: Diego Maradona.
With that, here's a look back at the first of Messi's six World Cups, a debut that continues to twinkle in spectators' eyes two decades later.
2026 WORLD CUP HQ:Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Updated World Cup bracket
Before Lionel Messi was soccer's greatest-ever talent, he was a fresh-faced teenager attempting to find his way for two of the grandest institutions in the sports world: Barcelona and Argentina.
The World Cup's all-time leading goal-scorer first appeared in the global spectacle in 2006, turning up as a 17-year-old with dreams of dancing down the pitch in a manner similar to that of another famous Argentine foxtrotter: Diego Maradona.
With that, here's a look back at the first of Messi's six World Cups, a debut that continues to twinkle in spectators' eyes two decades later.
2026 WORLD CUP HQ:Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Updated World Cup bracket
4 months ago
