Newsletter

FIFA World Cup: Lionel Messi surpasses Diego Maradona in his 1000th game

For the 1000th match of his professional career, Lionel Messi led the way to the quarter-finals at theArgentine Saturday with a goal againstAustralia (2-1) which allows him to get a little closer to his supreme dream: to win the World Cup.

A thousand matches is something to celebrate… with a goal, of course! The Argentinian captain, who had never previously scored in a World Cup knockout match, warded off fate by propelling the Albiceleste to the quarters. She will meet there on Friday Netherlandswinners of United States 3-1 early in the evening.

Shortly after the half hour mark (35′), Messi fired a free kick from the side which was returned by the Australian defence. The ball then returned to him through the air, he controlled it from the left with class, then slipped into the box, taking advantage of an exchange between Alexis Mac Allister and Nicolas Otamendi to steal the ball and send it with the left foot at ground level, towards the nets.

The many Argentinian supporters present at the Ahmad bin Ali stadium then began to chant “Messi, Messi! pretending to bow down to the star player.

“With the supporters, it was incredible sensations. They transmit this passion, this energy to us, ”appreciated Leo, who stayed on the lawn for a long time with his teammates to commune with the fans, at the final whistle.

Thanks to this goal, his ninth in a World Cup (but his first in a knockout match, from the eighth), the star of Paris SG overtook his predecessor Diego Maradona (8 goals) to become the second top scorer in Argentina. World Cup history. He is now only one unit behind Gabriel Batistuta (10).

“Diego would be super happy for me”, had already slipped the Pulga in the mixed zone on Wednesday evening after the match against Poland, which had seen him become the Argentinian who had played the most matches in World Cups (23 now) ahead of Maradona (21), two years after his death.

Objective: 1003 games on December 18

In the 50th, Messi again used his dazzling golden cleats to keep Mathew Ryan alert, but he slipped on his shot, deflected by a defender. Then three times at the end of the match (89th, 90th +2, 90th +4), he offered three perfect balls to Lautaro Martinez in the box, but his teammate missed his shots.

Not serious: after his goals againstSaudi Arabia in the opener (Argentina 2-1 defeat) and Mexico (2-0 success), and despite his silence in the 2-0 victory against Poland on Wednesday, Messi, with three goals in Qatar, joins the French Kylian Mbappé, the Spaniard Alvaro Morata, the Englishman Marcus Rashford, the Dutchman Cody Gakpo and the Ecuadorian Enner Valencia (eliminated) at the top of the ranking of the top scorers of the World Cup-2022.

“It’s a privilege to play with him. We know that we have to be patient, that he will eventually find a small space. And we know that we always have this ace in the sleeve, ”smiled Nahuel Molina in the mixed zone.

“He is the number 1 in the history of soccer, without a doubt,” reacted Spain coach Luis Enrique, his former coach at Barça, who was live on Twitch during the Argentina match.

In the 57th, following poor control by Australian goalkeeper Julian Alvarez, already a scorer against the Poland Wednesday, took advantage of this error to double the bet.

There was just a usual scare, late in the game, for the Albiceleste, when Enzo Fernandez allowed the Australians to close the gap by deflecting a Craig Goodwin strike into his own net.

But Argentina without thrills is not Messi’s Argentina.

And for what will surely be his last World Cup, the brilliant No. 10, 35, does not plan to stop there. The goal: to reach 1003 games on December 18, the date of the World Cup final. The only trophy still missing from his huge list.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending