Lionel Messi is the best soccer player in the world because he is capable of doing insane stuff like this. During the Copa America semifinal match between Argentina and the United States, Messi stood over the ball for a free kick. He got the ball up and over the American wall and beat United States keeper Brad Guzan to give Argentina a 2-0 lead in the first half.
Messi scoring on free kicks is nothing new – this random compilation video of free kicks is a pretty good way to spend six minutes – but this one was spectacular. He placed the ball perfectly in the upper corner of the net, and while Guzan read the ball about as well as he could, there was nothing he could do. Even by the lofty standards of Messi, this was incredible, a moment of brilliance that he’s capable of making look really, really easy.
Here’s the goal from a few different angles. Even if you’re a staunch supporter of the United States, you need to watch and appreciate Messi at his best:
Messi is insanely good pic.twitter.com/PQtxAVm14i
— Full Court Prez (@fullcourtprez) June 22, 2016
There may be one or two keepers on earth who could stop this on their best days. Thus is the power of Lionel Messi.
