With 22 appearances, Lionel Messi has officially surpassed the late legend Diego Maradona to become the Argentine player with the most appearances at the World Cup.
The 35-year-old was part of Albiceleste’s 2-0 win over Poland, with Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez both scoring as Lionel Scaloni’s men advanced to the top of their group. The result meant Argentina faced Australia in the round of 16, avoiding defending champions France.
Messi and his teammates have overcome difficult times – Photo: Getty
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi is still on his journey to make history in the national team. Not only is he the player with the most appearances, he also holds a series of other unprecedented records. Specifically, according to statistician William Hill, Lionel Messi is the player who scored the most goals (93), had the most assists (51) and had the most total appearances for Argentina (168).
In the World Cup alone, Lionel Messi is both the youngest player (18 years 357 days) and the oldest player (35 years 155 days) to score and assist in the same match. He currently has 8 goals in the World Cup, only 2 goals behind Gabriel Batistuta. In addition, El Pulga only needs 2 more assists to equal Diego Maradona’s record (8).
Argentina will only face Australia in the round of 16 and there are still plenty of opportunities for Lionel Messi to improve his record. This year’s tournament has seen many questions raised about the Albiceleste after their surprise defeat to Saudi Arabia. However, the South American representatives have woken up at the right time. In their last two matches, Argentina have scored four goals and conceded none.
Argentina won easily against Poland – Photo: Getty
Against Poland, coach Lionel Scaloni boldly changed his attack when Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez started at the same time. This decision directly brought victory to Argentina when the two names above scored against Wojciech Szczesny.
Lionel Messi’s records in Argentina national team
