On an “unlucky” day, Moises Caicedo and the Ecuadorian team had to be the background for Lionel Messi to shine.

Argentina encountered countless difficulties against Ecuador in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America. However, the world champion still won at least 1-0 thanks to Lionel Messi’s free-kick goal.

The most notable name on the Ecuadorian side is Moises Caicedo, the star who has just joined Chelsea in the summer transfer window of 2023. The 21-year-old player also has many times to confront Messi on the field, despite his technique and cunningness. M10 made him give up.

In the 12th minute, Caicedo fouled Messi in the middle of the field, but he himself got hurt and left the field for the medical team to treat the injury. Entering the second half, Messi continued to turn Caicedo into a “clown” when he easily passed the opponent’s player in a confrontation situation on the right wing.

Bought from Brighton for £115 million, breaking the English football transfer record, but what Caicedo brought was just a heavy disappointment. Not only did he not contribute much to the team, he was also a criminal who made Chelsea sink into the bottom half of the English Premier League rankings after the first 4 rounds.

As for Messi, a direct free kick against Ecuador helped him equal Luis Suarez’s record of the most goals scored in history in the South American World Cup qualifiers (29 goals).

Not only that, this is the 65th free kick in “La Pulga’s” career, thereby equaling the record of scoring from a free kick in his career with former player David Beckham. More interestingly, the 36-year-old superstar is playing for Inter Miami, the team owned by Beckham himself.