Football legend Lionel Messi was left stunned on Wednesday (IST) while meeting an opposition player during Argentina’s warm-up match against Iceland ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026. La Albiceleste won the game 3-0, with Messi scoring a penalty. When the players of the two sides were involved in a customary handshake at the end of the contest, Iceland forward Daniel Gudjohnsen approached Messi and asked if he recognised who the 20-year-old was. As the player introduced himself, Messi was left surprised.
Gudjohnsen is the son of former Bolton Wanderers and Barcelona forward Eidur Gudjohnsen, an ex-teammate of Messi. The Argentine superstar and Eidur played 67 times alongside each other for the La Liga giants. Their achievements together included a historic continental treble in the 2008/09 season.
After the game, Messi talked about the interaction and revealed to reporters that Gudjohnsen was “very little” when he last saw him.
“He said to me, ‘Do you remember who I am?'” Messi said.
“I was surprised at the time. Then he told me he was [Eidur] Gudjohnsen’s son. Honestly, I didn’t remember, he was very little,” he added.
Messi had a long conversation with this Icelandic player because he was told that he and his dad, Eiur Gujohnsen, used to be teammates at Barcelona.
Imagine playing long enough to play against your ex teammate’s son
pic.twitter.com/fUbyvIEGb3— AM (@AbsoluteMxssi) June 10, 2026
Messi ready for his sixth World Cup
After recovering from a muscle injury, the captain of the reigning world champions played 20 minutes and scored a penalty in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Iceland.
Messi, who had been recovering from muscle fatigue and a slight strain in his left hamstring that he suffered in his last appearance with Inter Miami on May 24, started the game from the bench.
Just days before his 39th birthday and his sixth World Cup, Messi came on in the 70th minute and scored a penalty after Lautaro Martínez was fouled inside the area.
Messi, the all-time top scorer for the Argentine national team with 117 goals, converted the penalty with a high left-footed shot in the 72nd minute.
Argentina, seeking its fourth World Cup title after those won in 1978, 1986 and 2022, will open its tournament against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City in Group J, which also includes Austria and Jordan.
It was the second match between the two nations. The first was at the 2018 World Cup, when the European side managed a 1-1 draw in which Messi missed a penalty.
(With agency inputs)