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SportsArgentina media: Messi tasked with breaking 24-year World Cup curse, knockout round vs Cape Verde
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The article reports that Lionel Messi's outstanding performance at the 2026 World Cup, including scoring in seven consecutive matches and extending his record to 19 World Cup goals, has raised expectations in Argentina. The nation's largest sports publication, Diario Ole, has tempered these hopes by noting a curse: no team with a perfect group stage record has won the World Cup since Brazil in 2002. Argentina has won all three group matches, and the media has tasked Messi with breaking this 24-year curse by delivering his best performances in the knockout rounds, starting against Cape Verde in the last-32. The article highlights the psychological danger of peaking too early and the need for Messi to replicate his 2022 knockout-stage heroics.
Source report
By Kasra Moradi, Senior Sports Journalist Source: Mirror Sport
Lionel Messi's heroics at the 2026 World Cup have seen the Argentine legend tasked with ending a 24-year curse — a challenge laid down by his nation's media.
The 39-year-old once again stole the headlines during Sunday's 3-1 Group J victory over Jordan. Restored to the squad after being rested by Lionel Scaloni for the first hour, Messi came off the bench and sprinkled his usual magic on the game. He won a free-kick that he whipped around Jordan's wall, wrong-footing the opposition goalkeeper to net his sixth goal of the tournament.
Record-Breaking Feats
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner made history by:
- Becoming the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches
- Extending his overall World Cup total to 19 goals
- Surpassing Miroslav Klose's record for most goals scored by a single player earlier in the tournament
Perfect Group Stage — But a Cautionary Tale
Argentina sealed a perfect nine-point group stage after three victories, with Messi playing a starring role in each game. That has raised belief among Argentines that their side could become the first nation to defend their World Cup crown since Brazil achieved the feat in 1962.
However, Argentina's largest sports publication, Diario Ole, has sought to temper those expectations by highlighting a World Cup curse dating back to 2002: No nation that has finished the group stage with a perfect record has gone on to win the tournament since Brazil.
The outlet pointed out that achieving a perfect group stage often serves as an illusion of dominance, leading to a psychological crash in the knockout rounds. Brazil were a rare exception, managing a perfect run of seven victories in Japan and South Korea in 2002.
Ole used the statistic to show that the World Cup is never won in the group stage — Argentina's opening-game defeat to Saudi Arabia in Qatar was evidence of that.
On the contrary, there is a danger that Argentina, propelled by their legendary No. 10, may have peaked too early.
The Task Ahead
As such, the nation's media has set the diminutive talisman the challenge of making history once again — just as he has done in recent weeks and across his entire career.
Next up: Scaloni's men face Cape Verde in the newly introduced last-32 round.
But for Argentina to become four-time World Cup winners, Messi's best performances will need to come in the later rounds, when they will inevitably face tougher opposition. He managed exactly that at the 2022 World Cup, carrying Argentina through the knockout stages by netting five goals against Australia and beyond.
Read more:
- World Cup team of the tournament so far as two England stars make the cut
- Five storylines and six players that could dominate the World Cup knockout stages
© 2026 Mirror Sport
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Mirror - FootballWestern
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