In just 27 matches, Messi has summited the peak and achieved what is perhaps one of the most coveted accolades in all of world football, after sliding home a beautiful inside of the foot strike from 18 yards out in the 38th minute of today’s match versus Austria. Despite the fact that Messi missed the target on a penalty shot in the ninth minute, it did not stop him from breaking the record in beautiful fashion just 29 minutes later.

(Shortly after finishing edits on this article, Messi scored goal number 18 in the 95th minute, putting the game away 2–0 for the Argentinians.*)

On June 16, 2006, at Arena AufSchalke in Germany, an 18-year-old Lionel Messi was subbed on in the 75th minute, marking his World Cup debut. Wearing number 19 at only 18 years old, Messi assisted Hernan Crespo after being on the pitch for just three minutes. 10 minutes later, Messi beat Dragoslav Jevric on the near-post to improve Argentina’s lead 6–0. With one pass from Argentinian great Carlos Tevez, Messi kick-started his legendary career, becoming Argentina’s youngest goal scorer ever at just 18 years and 357 days old.

Despite the impressive debut for the all-time great, South Africa in 2010 was quite the disappointment for the Barcelona man, scoring zero goals through five games with an eventual exit in the quarterfinals to Germany.

With 2010 in the rear view, Messi did what every all-time great does, which happened to be scoring 16 more goals over the course of the next 4 World Cups. Messi would again underperform at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, scoring a single goal against Nigeria in the group stage. However, this was quickly forgotten when, four years later, in Qatar, Messi would claim the trophy of all trophies, winning the World Cup and scoring an impressive seven goals in the process.

Now with five goals through two games this year, Messi shows no signs of slowing down, as Argentina looks to become repeat champions for the first time since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.

The Spanish side, led by legendary manager Carlo Ancelotti, started a strong side against Cabo Verde, with players such as Cucurella, Llorente, Cubrasi, Rodri, Pedri, Gavi, and Torres; all players who are a part of Spain’s true starting XI. Despite Spain’s superior lineup in all fashions, they were still unable to break down Cabo Verde’s low block, led by 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, who currently plays for G.D Chaves in Liga Portugal 2.

The story of Cabo Verde’s low block versus Spain was death by a thousand cuts, breaking down the finest details of Spain’s game. Conversely, Spain lacked their cutting-edge that they so often flex their muscles in European competitions.

This shocking draw is just the latest of Spain’s recent World Cup failures since lifting the trophy in 2010 at Soccer City (FNB) in Johannesburg, South Africa. With a stat that almost sounds false, Spain has only won three, yes three, World Cup games since defeating the Netherlands 1–0 in extra time.

Despite lifting the European Championship in both 2008, 2012, and 2024, respectively, the Spaniards have failed miserably to recreate the magic that Andrés Iniesta gave them 16 years ago. With three wins over three teams who are much inferior to Spain, it has been early exit after early exit for the Spanish men’s side.

2014 ended in an embarrassing group stage exit, after being bested by the Netherlands in a rubber match 5–1, and outclassed by Chile 2–0. They would go on to beat Australia 3–0, before seeing the Netherlands and Chile go through to the round of 16.

Both 2018 and 2022 would end in round of 16 exits after falling to host nation Russia on penalties (1–1, 3–5 pens.), and 2022 semifinalist Morocco (0–0, 0–3 pens.).

The question then remains how an international powerhouse, which has won three out of the last five European Championships, while facing far superior competition than the likes of Cabo Verde, has fallen so far from grace on the world’s biggest stage.

I believe the answer lies in a simple formula: It comes down to a simple contrast in pressure. Heavyweights like Spain operate under a constant media microscope, suffocated by expectation. Conversely, underdogs like Cabo Verde play with the freedom of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—utterly unbothered by football’s traditional hierarchy.

Players, like Vozinha, know this is the best opportunity for them to showcase their skills on the world stage. A Liga Portugal 2 side will never appear in a UCL Final, but 11 million people watched last night.

The USMNT’s final midfield room will consist of Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen), Christian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), and Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps). From reading the list alone, there is a clear depth issue in the midfield and, more importantly, a glaring drop-off in quality in the defensive midfield after former 2022 Qatar World Cup captain Tyler Adams.

With Adams as the only specialist in this role, many supporters have questioned Pochettino’s tactics and selection process. Opting for 10 defenders while leaving off valuable defensive midfielders such as Aidan Morris and Tanner Tessmann has further fueled concerns about depth at this crucial position.

Although McKennie is a true box-to-box midfielder, he often excels playing a more free-roaming role, with little to no defensive marking responsibilities. If Adams goes down or comes into trouble with cards, Pochettino will have to play players out of position or entirely change the formation, with both options being less than ideal.

“We have Tyler Adams, we have Christian Roldan, we also have Sebastian Berhalter,” Pochettino said in his recent comments to the press. Pochettino also went on to list Tillman, McKennie, Reyna, Dest, and Alex Freeman.

Despite sounding confident in his wording, many supporters and I alike would see imminent disaster if players like Roldan, Berhalter, or Reyna received real minutes playing as a true defensive midfielder. Roldan and Berhalter have the ceilings of good MLS players at best, and seemingly not much more as it stands now. Reyna, although he has real experience in Europe, is too weak on the ball for my liking and often holds the ball, stopping momentum and transition for the U.S., something Adams rarely does.

In an ideal world, Pochettino would have dropped MLS-talent Miles Robinson, a depth center back, and Max Arfsten, an MLS wingback, for Morris and Tessmann, allowing pressure to be lifted off the shoulders of Adams.

Normally playing in an aggressive and fiery style, Adams may have to pull himself back to avoid cards. If Adams is sent off, which is an unfortunate possibility, as he has tallied 18 yellows and one red card in his professional career thus far.

After the Eagles’ series victory, the chance of a Brighton Regional happening has become increasingly more likely. As it stands, if BC wants to lock up the home-field advantage come NCAA Tournament time, they will need to reach 20 ACC wins, according to D1Baseball.com & Perfect Game.

BC has six ACC games remaining, split between two weekend series with Clemson in South Carolina and with national powerhouse Georgia Tech in Brighton. In an odd end to the season, as they face off with Clemson, who is dead-last in the ACC, and GT, who is first in the ACC, the Eagles will look to continue to play their small-ball bunt-and-run style of play.

Carrying this preparation forward, the Eagles handled another mid-week game by taking down the UMass Lowell Riverhawks 7–6 last night, which leaves them appearing as ready as possible for their upcoming conference matchup in South Carolina.

The bats stayed hot for Nick Wang and Julio Soiler as the pair combined for seven hits and six RBIs in game two’s 16–1 victory. Soiler went 4-of-5 at the plate, while scoring twice, including a 3-run home run shot in the eighth inning to put the Eagles up 9–1. Wang would continue to pile it on as he would poke a single through shortly after to extend the lead to 16–1, batting in Ben Williams and Danny Surowiec.

This was Wang’s 38th home run for Boston College, as he now sits third all time in career home runs for Boston College with games to play. Wang is chasing 2007 graduate Sean McGowan who is the current all time holder with 53.

In what was his best showing of the year, senior first baseman Kyle Wolff homered three times in BC’s two wins, including a ninth-inning shot in game three, which drove in two runs to put the Eagles ahead 7–6. Wolff’s stellar performance marks his 16th hit and 22nd RBI of his senior campaign. The Eagles will certainly look to senior leadership as they enter the toughest stretch of the season, starting with the GT series and hopefully continuing with a regional in Brighton after what is sure to be a deep ACC Tournament run.

The Eagles bullpen was on full display yet again, seeing contributions from the entire group, including an impressive save from Gavin Soares in game 3 to close out the series.

With this weekend triumph, BC now ranks No. 13 in nation per Perfect Game, No. 14 per Baseball America, and No. 20 per D1Baseball.com. As for the NPI rankings, BC currently sits at No. 25 with work to do down the stretch.

With 15 games to go, BC has turned the Harrington Athletic Village into a fortress, boasting an impressive 18–2 record at home. This was the last weekend series BC will host until mid-May when NJIT visits Brighton.

The weekend was packed with many milestone moments for the Eagles, as AJ Colarusso, the senior left-handed pitcher and Massachusetts native, got his record-setting 44th start on the bump, the most by any pitcher in school history. Jack Toomey, dubbed “Mr. Reliable,” notched his 100th consecutive start for the Eagles, recording five hits in the three-game series.

The bats remained hot for the Eagles, as they recorded 31 hits over the three-game stretch. Leading the way was second baseman Ty Mainolfi, who notched five hits and four RBIs. BC would only knock two over the fence this weekend, both coming in game three as sophomore left fielder Colin Larson and freshman phenom Luke Gallo both went yard in BC’s 14–6 victory to close out the sweep.

After their impressive showing with 11–1, 4–2, and 14–6 victories over Duke, BC now sits at No. 22 on D1Baseball.com, No. 17 on Baseball America, No. 24 in NPI, and No. 13 on Perfect Game, reflecting a strong national presence after the dominant weekend.

BC’s bullpen only allowed nine runs on the weekend, including a run-rule victory in game one. Combining for 18 strikeouts, the team used seven different pitchers, including Colarusso, who got his fourth win after pitching all seven innings in game one’s 11–1 victory.