Lionel Messi keeps adding to World Cup legacy
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Lionel Messi has already tallied career highs in goals and assists with one big game to go in his fifth – and potentially final – FIFA World Cup appearance for Argentina.
The 35-year-old was again decisive as La Albiceleste cruised to a 3-0 win over Croatia in the semifinal on Tuesday to reach their sixth World Cup final, scoring his fifth goal in the tournament on a penalty kick and registering his third assist on Julian Alvarez’ final goal.
Messi’s previous highs were registered in 2014 in Brazil, when he scored four goals and dished out one assist throughout the tournament as the South Americans lost 1-0 in the final to Germany. He scored once in both 2006 and 2018, while going scoreless in a disappointing performance in 2010. His .44 World Cup goals per game remain lower than his .56 total average for Argentina, highlighting the importance of his .83 average in Qatar.
The goal against Croatia increased his total to 11 at soccer’s biggest stage, passing Gabriel Batistuta for the most ever goals by an Argentine in the tournament and placing him sixth all-time behind Germany’s Miroslav Klose (16) and Gerd Muller (14), Brazil’s Ronaldo (15) and Pelé (12), and France’s Just Fontaine (13).
La Pulga also tied Lothar Matthaus’ record for most appearances in the tournament with 25, with a chance to break it entirely on Sunday.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward is now tied at the top of the Golden Boot race with France’s Kylian Mbappe and became the oldest man to ever score five times in a single World Cup while also winning the most Man of the Match awards in Qatar with four.
Messi is also Argentina’s all-time top goal scorer with 96 goals in 171 international caps, ranking him third amongst men behind Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo who has 118 and Iran’s Ali Daei with 109.
The 2014 Golden Ball winner answered in typical fashion when asked what it means to surpass Batistuta, choosing instead to praise the group over his individual accolades.
“I have enjoyed this World Cup very much since we got here, even after losing our first match,” said the legendary footballer who is chasing his first World Cup Final victory. “We asked people to trust because we knew this group was crazy.”
Argentina's pursuit of their third FIFA World Cup title has its final chapter on Sunday, when they face France at 10 a.m ET / 7 a.m. PT. You can watch the game live across the TSN Network, TSN.ca or the TSN App.