AL DAAYEN: Lionel Messi broke Gabriel Batistuta’s record to become the highest goalscorer for Argentina in the history of the FIFA World Cup. This was Messi’s 11th goal.
The Argentina captain scored from the penalty kick to give his side a 1-0 lead against Croatia in the 34th minute in the first semi-final match at Lusail Stadium. Messi has equalled Hungarian great Sandor Kocsis and German goal-machine Jurgen Klinsmann with 11 goals. Only Pele (12), Just Fontaine (13), Gerd Muller (14), Brazil’s Ronaldo (15) and Germany’s Miroslav Klose (16) have scored more goals in FIFA World Cup than Messi. This match was also his 25th World Cup match, the most for any Argentinian player alongside Lothar Matthaus.
In this edition of the tournament he has scored five goals and is on level terms with Kylian Mbappe of France in the race for the Golden Boot.
The Argentine star’s superlative performance paved the way to an emphatic 3-0 win over Croatia and with this win, they have now entered the final. The Messi-led side will take on the winner of France versus Morocco match. This will be Messi’s second FIFA World Cup final as Argentina reached the final of FIFA World Cup 2014 but lost to Germany by a solitary goal. The star Argentine footballer is eyeing the third FIFA World Cup trophy for his country. (ANI)