Leo Messi is an inexhaustible source of records. He broke countless records during his time at Barça and in this World Cup he does the same with the albiceleste. In the umpteenth exhibition of his career, this time in the semifinal against Croatia (3-0), the star from Rosario equaled a new record and surpassed another.
He caught Lothar Matthäus as the footballer with the most appearances in the World Cups (25) and became Argentina's all-time top scorer in the tournament. Thanks to the penalty scored in the 34th minute in Lusail, he already has eleven, one more than the ten that Gabriel Batistuta celebrated. He had held the Batigol record for twenty years. In Qatar, Messi has already scored five times, three from the penalty spot, which allows him to match Kylian Mbappé as the championship's top scorer.
Messi had never scored in a knockout phase and in this World Cup event he has done so in all of them: in the round of 16 (Australia), quarterfinals (Netherlands) and semifinals (Croatia), a round in which he also assisted Julián Álvarez in the third goal.
In addition, it is his most prolific year with the albiceleste: 16 goals in 2022 (96 in total), four more than in 2012, when a priori he was experiencing the sweetest moment of his career. Messi never ceases to amaze, not only because of his qualities. In this World Cup, he has shown the world a personality and character that until now has been less well-known and has made him the desired leader of the new Argentine generation.
Barring a dramatic setback, in the final he will become the only man to have participated in 26 matches since the World Cup was created almost a century ago. His first minutes in the tournament came in the second match of Germany 2006. It took him a quarter of an hour to score a goal and provide an assist against Serbia and Montenegro (6-0).
Like Matthäus, Messi has played in five World Cups, more than any other Argentine. In the emirate, he has also surpassed Diego Armando Maradona as the footballer with the most appearances as Argentina's captain and left behind the eight goals of the country's great legend. He now lacks the trophy most coveted by Argentines since Diego kissed him and lifted him for the last time at the Azteca, in 1986. Maradona did not score in either of his two finals. Messi neither in Brazil 2014. He will not want to miss a second (and last) opportunity.
