Lionel Messi celebrates his 39th birthday with Argentina teammates during a joyful World Cup

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.

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.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup