The New York New Jersey Stadium will be the scene of the 2026 World Cup final. Argentina and Spain will try to lift the trophy after seven long games. Messi has gray memories in this stadium, but not all of them are bad. There he crushed Brazil.

Lionel Messi's bitterest memory at the New York New Jersey Stadium was the penalty loss against Chile in the 2016 Copa América Centenario Final. Messi missed a penalty and retired from the national team.

But in this stadium there were also joys for the Albiceleste captain. Messi hopes to have a great night against Spain, a performance like the one he had against Brazil in June 2012.

Messi's hat trick over Brazil

The New York New Jersey Stadium was the scene of a friendly confrontation between Brazil and Argentina. With a young Neymar, the Amazon team took the lead in the 23rd minute with a goal from Borges.

However, in a four-minute interval, Lionel Messi scored a double that gave partial victory to Argentina. The first was a dive into space and a subtle definition before Rafael's bail; In the second, again into space, he got rid of Rafael with a cut to the outside and scored an empty goal.

Brazil would take the lead on the scoreboard thanks to goals from Óscar in the 56th and Hulk in the 72nd. But equality was soon achieved with a goal from Federico Fernández 15 minutes from time.

The icing on the cake would belong to Messi. The former FC Barcelona player took off Marcelo in the middle of the field and advanced towards the edge of the area. With his educated left foot, Messi put the ball in the corner and scored his third goal of the night and sealed the victory against Argentina.

Just as there are memories that are not so pleasant in this stadium, there are also magical nights for the veteran Argentine soccer player. The sadness and the glory. The New York New Jersey Stadium has experienced both sides of the coin in Messi's career.