Lionel Messi has scored 29 free-kick goals in his career. This one might be the best of the lot.
The free-kick goal that the soccer superstar scored Tuesday in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Colombia made the Internet buzz with approval. Messi beat Colombia’s David Ospina from 25 yards with a powerful, swerving free kick, which bounced off the crossbar into the goal.
Messi’s ninth-minute strike ultimately gave Argentina the margin it needed to beat Colombia and revive its hopes of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The Argentina and Barcelona icon hasn’t always been a set-piece master, but he now is among the world’s best at this particular skill.
Messi ruling the field is no surprise, but what he did after the game was a shock. As Argentina’s captain, he presided over an extraordinary press conference, in which he and his teammates vowed to stop speaking to the press due to a story one journalist wrote about Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Lionel Messi, soccer superstar and budding telenovela sensation.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
