Messi's eye knock v Switzerland: why he needed ice mid-match | OneFootball

The Argentine captain experienced an extremely intense second half in Kansas City, where he took a heavy blow, made major history before the eyes of the world, and stood his ground against the head referee.

The Argentina National Team is fighting a very tough battle against Switzerland for a place in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup. During the second half, all alarms went off on the Albiceleste bench when Lionel Messi had to receive urgent medical attention after taking a hard blow to the face.

The situation became clear immediately after the European side’s equalizer. When the hydration break was called, Scaloni’s medical staff quickly entered the field with one clear objective: to put ice on the number 10’s right eye, as he was visibly struggling with discomfort from an impact he had taken minutes earlier during play.

Historic record and heated confrontation

Despite the physical pain, the Argentine captain once again proved to be the most decisive player for the national team. With his brilliant assist to Alexis Mac Allister to open the scoring at the start of the match, Messi reached 10 assists in the history of the competition, officially matching Pelé’s legendary record as the all-time top assist provider in World Cups.

However, the nature of the match also pushed tensions to the limit. True to his role as leader, Leo was involved in a heated face-to-face exchange with Portuguese referee João Pinheiro, whom he confronted during a fiery argument over the official’s bad attitude. “Speak properly, don’t be disrespectful. Speak to me properly, I spoke to you properly,” the Inter Miami star said firmly, managing to calm things down seconds after putting the match official in his place.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.