NEW DELHI: Lionel Messi brought joy to Argentina fans in Beijing as he scored the fastest goal of his international career in a friendly match against Australia, securing a 2-0 victory. The goal came just 79 seconds into the game at the lively Workers' Stadium.
In the second minute, Argentina won the ball in Australia's half, and Enzo Fernandez set up Messi. The Argentine star skillfully evaded two defenders before unleashing a curling shot from outside the box that beat the goalkeeper.
Messi's goal-scoring streak for Argentina continues, as he has now found the back of the net in seven consecutive games. The iconic player shows no signs of slowing down as he approaches his 36th birthday next week.
The Workers' Stadium was filled with a sea of blue-and-white, with the majority of the 68,000 capacity crowd wearing Argentina jerseys, creating an electric atmosphere for the match.
"I can't see any yellow shirts anywhere," Australia coach Graham Arnold said before the match. "I just really hope Lionel Messi gets a little percentage of the shirt sales because I've never seen so many Argentine number 10 shirts in my life!"
Argentina doubled their lead in the second half when Rodrigo De Paul floated in an enticing cross into the box and substitute German Pezzella found space between two defenders to fire home a free header.
(With Reuters inputs)
