Subbing in during the 70th minute, Messi set up a penalty kick with his first touch of the match, passing a through-ball to Lautaro Martinez, who was taken out by Iceland goalkeeper Elias Olafsson.

In the 72nd minute, Messi buried the penalty into the roof of the net, doubling Argentina's lead to 2-0 on the 117th international goal of his career.

Messi, 38, missed Argentina's first friendly against Honduras as he continued his recovery from left hamstring soreness which forced him to prematurely exit Inter Miami's final match before the World Cup break on 24 May.

With his World Cup status seemingly certain, Messi is set to simultaneously set a record this month alongside Cristiano Ronaldo when he appears in his sixth career World Cup.

No one has played in more World Cup matches than Messi, who has appeared in 26, one more than Germany's Lothar Matthaus. Messi's 13 career World Cup goals are tied for fourth-most, three behind German record-holder Miroslav Klose (16).

Valentin Barco (eighth minute) and Thiago Almeda (86th) also scored for Argentina, which outscored its opponents 5-0 in the final tune-up matches entering its World Cup title defence.

Argentina's Group J schedule at the upcoming World Cup features matches against Algeria on 16 June, Austria on 22 June and Jordan on 27 June.