Marshalling his troops in Argentina’s crucial Group C match at FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, talisman Lionel Messi reached new heights in his incredible football career on Thursday. The Argentine stalwart has eclipsed his idol Diego Maradona at the grandest stage by securing another major milestone under his belt. The Paris Saint Germain (PSG) superstar recorded his 22nd appearance for La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blue) at the FIFA World Cup.
Featuring in his fifth World Cup campaign for the two-time world champions, Messi has become Argentina’s most-capped player in the history of the FIFA World Cup. The 35-year-old achieved the massive feat when Argentina squared off against Robert Lewandowski-led Poland in the Group C encounter at the Stadium 974. Second-placed Argentina are only a point behind Group C leaders Poland in Qatar.
Messi-led Argentina arrived at the mouth-watering fixture against Poland after defeating Mexico 2-0 in its previous World Cup fixture. Under the leadership of Messi, Argentina suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia in its FIFA World Cup 2022 opener. Talking more about Messi’s memorable campaign in Qatar, the talismanic forward of La Albiceleste shattered Maradona’s World Cup record in Argentina’s thrilling win over Mexico.
Messi had equalled Maradona’s FIFA World Cup goal tally after scoring the opening goal for the South American giants against Mexico. Messi also matched Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup goal tally with his impressive strike against Mexico at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. Interestingly, the Argentina captain is the youngest (18 years 357 days against Serbia in 2006) and also the oldest (35 years 155 days against Mexico) player to both score and assist in a single World Cup match since the 1966 World Cup. Argentina captain Messi is also the only men’s player to come up with an assist in each of his 5 World Cup campaigns for Argentina. Earlier, Messi became the fifth player to score a goal in four different World Cup campaigns.
