Lionel Messi continues to be fire with his hot start in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. One sports analyst put the debate to bed about the Argentina star being the greatest ever.

Messi is going through the last World Cup of his legendary career. He began his sixth tournament with a bang, torching Algeria with a hat trick of three goals. After that, he followed that up with two goals in a 2-0 victory over Austria.

Sports analyst Dax McCarty appeared on the First Things First show to talk about Messi on Monday. He made it clear that Messi put the GOAT debate to rest a long time ago.

“He put the GOAT debate to rest years ago. This is just the cherry on top for the greatest player that’s ever lived…if you want to be considered the greatest of all time, you have to win the World Cup. He did that in 2022 and he has only gotten better with age,” McCarty said.

“He's a different player now, but I'd argue he's more efficient than he's ever been in the final third, as evidenced by this absolutely fantastic performance we've seen out of him in Argentina for these first two games. His efficiency, his danger, the way that Austria is a very good team, and the way that teams game plan around to stop him, and yet he still finds ways to score goals, to be dangerous, to be effective.”

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What's next for Lionel Messi, Argentina after beating Austria

Lionel Messi hopes to return to the mountaintop one last time after winning it all in 2022. For Argentina, they hope to help give him a legendary sendoff as the best to ever play the game of soccer.

Argentina maintains its grip on first place of the Group J standings with six points and counting after two wins. They are above Austria, Jordan and Algeria at the moment.

Argentina looks forward to its group finale, staying in Arlington for the to cap off the group stage. They prepare for a clash against debutants Jordan on June 27 at 10 p.m. ET.