goooooooooooooooooooooal
Watch Lionel Messi's first, perfect goal of the 2018 World Cup
With Argentina just barely hanging onto its World Cup hopes in its must-win game against Nigeria on Tuesday, the team has seen a few changes — dropping goalkeeper Willy Caballero, who was most infamously responsible for the team's 3-0 defeat to Croatia, and replacing him with Franco Armani, for one.
Another change: Lionel Messi scoring. Just 14 minutes into the match, Messi stepped up to help his fans breathe a little easier with his first goal of the tournament. "Oh come on, did you really think he wouldn't step up in a do-or-die moment?" quipped SB Nation on its live blog of the match. "Éver Banega set up the goal with a wonderful pass, but Messi's first and second touches, then finish were even better." The goal also made Messi the first World Cup player to score in his teens, 20s, and 30s.
If the goal alone isn't poetic enough for you, consider that it is the 100th of this World Cup. Watch below. Jeva Lange