MEXICO CITY (AP) — Lionel Messi celebrated his 39th birthday on Wednesday during a World Cup that, at least for now, has brought him nothing but joy: Defending champion Argentina has already qualified for the knockout stage, and its captain has become the tournament's career scoring leader.
Messi marked the occasion alongside his teammates at Argentina's training base in Kansas City, Missouri. This is his sixth World Cup and the fifth time he's had a birthday during the tournament. The exception was the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was played in November and December.
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Boys stand next to a cake that reads in Spanish: "Happy Birthday", during a celebration to sing Lionel Messi happy birthday at a street mural honoring him in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Argentina's Lionel Messi walks to training for the the World Cup soccer tournament Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
People gather to sing happy birthday to Lionel Messi at a street mural of him in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Argentina's Lionel Messi walks to training for the the World Cup soccer tournament Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Messi has scored all of Argentina's goals so far: three in its opening win over Algeria and two more in its victory over Austria. He has 18 for his World Cup career, two better than Miroslav Klose and Kylian Mbappé.
On social media, Messi shared a photo of himself with a cake, alongside some of his teammates. The cake was from Pan Caliente, a Kansas City bakery owned by an Argentine pastry chef.
In another picture, Argentina players posed alongside Messi, all wearing T-shirts featuring a personal photo of themselves with the captain.
“To the man who changed our lives, gave us unforgettable moments, and made us believe that dreams are possible... The best part wasn’t just seeing it — it was living it with you! Happy birthday, Captain; we love you. May you be immensely happy,” the T-shirts read, according to a social media post by forward Julián Álvarez.
FIFA, his club Inter Miami and his former club Barcelona were among those sending birthday wishes to Messi.
In his hometown of Rosario, around 5,000 kids from local schools sang “Happy Birthday,” and a few even brought cakes.
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Boys stand next to a cake that reads in Spanish: "Happy Birthday", during a celebration to sing Lionel Messi happy birthday at a street mural honoring him in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Argentina's Lionel Messi walks to training for the the World Cup soccer tournament Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
People gather to sing happy birthday to Lionel Messi at a street mural of him in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Argentina's Lionel Messi walks to training for the the World Cup soccer tournament Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The United States returns to the pitch for its final World Cup group-stage game with some decisions to make.
The Americans have already won Group D to lock up a spot in the knockout stage and will face winless Turkey in Inglewood, California, on Thursday.
Christian Pulisic returned to training after missing a 2-0 win over Australia, but coach Mauricio Pochettino has to decide how much to use his star player in a game that's meaningless in the standings and the knockout stage right around the corner.
There are similar decisions to make with Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson. They're all on yellow cards and would miss the first knockout round game if they picked up a second against Turkey.
The U.S. has won consecutive World Cup matches for the first time since 1930. Its six goals in the first two matches are one short of the team record for a World Cup.
Turkey has yet to score a goal in its first World Cup in 24 years and is already eliminated.
Thursday will be the second day with six matches, including Germany looking to win its third straight game, Ivory Coast aiming to make the knockout stage for the first time and Ecuador needing a win to escape the group stage.
— Curacao vs. Ivory Coast , 4 p.m. EDT in Philadelphia (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Ecuador vs. Germany, 4 p.m. EDT in East Rutherford, New Jersey (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Japan vs. Sweden, 7 p.m. EDT in Arlington, Texas (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Tunisia vs. The Netherlands, 7 p.m. EDT in Kansas City, Missouri (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Paraguay vs. Australia, 10 p.m. EDT in Santa Clara, California (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Turkey vs. United States, 10 p.m. EDT in Inglewood, California (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
Ecuador arrived at the World Cup on a 19-game winning streak.
It could face an early exit if it can't find a way to beat Germany in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Ecuador opened the World Cup with a 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast on Amad Diallo's goal in the 90th minute and played to a scoreless draw against Curacao, the smallest nation in the World Cup.
That leaves Ecuador trailing both Germany and Ivory Coast in Group E with one point and needing to beat the Germans, who have already clinched the group but will be without defender Nico Schlotterbeck for the rest of the World Cup because of an ankle injury.
Ivory Coast has a chance to make history in its fourth World Cup.
With a win already under their belt, the Elephants can clinch a spot in the knockout round for the first time with a win over Curacao in Philadelphia.
Ivory Coast pulled off a 1-0 win over Ecuador and had a halftime lead over Germany before losing 2-1. Ivory Coast's previous best chance to reach the knockout stage came in Brazil in 2014 when it opened with a win over Japan before losing the next two games.
Curacao still has an outside shot of reaching the knockout round, needing a win and some goal-differential help from Ecuador. Curacao has a goal differential of minus-6, thanks to an opening 7-1 loss to Germany.
The Netherlands and Japan will be playing for the top spot in Group F on Thursday night — the Dutch play Tunisia, the Japanese face Sweden — but both teams have said they want no updates on each other as their games are progressing.
“You have to focus on making sure you win the match,” said Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman, whose team has a record World Cup unbeaten streak of 14 matches excluding penalty shootouts. “We would love to be first in the group and of course the result will have an impact on that, but that’s not the most important thing. Playing this game is the most important thing.”
The Netherlands and Japan both have four points and a plus-four goal differential. Sweden is at three points with its 5-1 loss to Dutch.
To finish first in the group, Sweden has to win and have the Netherlands do no better than a draw.
“It’s literally my first rodeo in terms of a World Cup so it’s going to be new to me,” Sweden coach Graham Potter said. “But yeah, it’s best for us to try to get the positive results and focus on that.”
There’s plenty at stake in the final Group D match between Australia and Paraguay.
The Australians will clinch second place in the group and a spot in the knockout round with either a win or draw. Paraguay clinches second place with a win and is almost assured advancement as a third-place team with a draw. The situation will me more tenuous with a loss for either team, with goal differential likely deciding the fate.
The game is a bit of a full-circle moment for Socceroos coach Tony Popovic, who played his final international game as a player against Paraguay in a friendly 20 years ago when he scored his eighth international goal.
“I didn’t score many so I have to remind you of that,” Popovic said. “It was a special way to end my international career. To think that all these years later I’ll be the head coach and we’re up against Paraguay is special. That was a great day and hopefully tomorrow will a special day for Australia against Paraguay once more.”
Australia will be without defender Jacob Italiano and forward Mat Leckie, who are dealing with injuries.
Paraguay will be without midfielder Miguel Almiron, who is suspended after getting a red card for covering his mouth during a confrontation against Turkey. Mauricio will start in his place, coach Gustavo Alfaro said.
— Switzerland wraps up first place in Group B at the World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Canada
— Bosnia-Herzegovina boosts chances of advancing at World Cup with 3-1 win over Qatar
— Qatar’s Assim Madibo banned for 5 games after breaking the leg of Canada’s Ismaël Koné at World Cup
— 'Our idol is back': Neymar debuts in this World Cup as a sub for Brazil against Scotland
— Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha seeks new club after World Cup stardom, doesn’t rule out Brazil move
— Day 14 of the World Cup, in photos
Switzerland has qualified for the knockout phase for the seventh consecutive time in major tournament football (World Cups and UEFA Euros).
AP sports writers Dave Skretta, Josh Dubow and Stephen Hawkins contributed to this story.
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Bosnia's Ermin Mahmic (26) scores his side's third goal during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Bosnia and Qatar in Seattle Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Canada's Promise David (24) takes a shot on goal as Switzerland's Granit Xhaka (10) defends during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Switzerland and Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Curaçao's Leandro Bacuna and teammates celebrate after a draw against Ecuador during a World Cup Group E soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Ivory Coast's Ibrahim Sangare carries teammate Amad Diallo after defeating Ecuador in a World Cup Group E soccer match in Philadelphia, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
United States' Christian Pulisic attends a training session ahead of a FIFA World Cup match against Turkey in Irvine, Calif., Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
