Lionel Messi, the Argentine footballer with the most matches played in the history of the World Cup

Lionel Messi became the Argentine footballer to play the most matches in the World Championship by reaching his twenty-second game in the match against Poland and beating Diego Armando Maradona, who accumulated twenty in the four editions he played.

Argentina shines! the albiceleste with a football chair beat Poland 2-0 to play the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup

Messi, who days ago became the only Argentine to play five World Cups and situate himself in the select group that includes the German Lothar Matthäus, the Italian Gigi Buffon, the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and the Mexicans Rafael Márquez, Guillermo Ochoa, Andrés Guardado and Antonio Carbajal, has twenty-two meetings with the albiceleste in this tournament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc6EGIw-cY4

The Argentine star arrived in Qatar with nineteen games played that he has left behind with the presence against Saudi Arabia and Mexico and this Wednesday against Poland. Now, on the horizon, he has the German Lothar Matthaus who accumulated 25. To match the German, Messi needs to reach the semifinals with Argentina and to overcome him, reach the final.

In addition, the Argentine star increased his World Cup matches to fifteen as captain. He equaled the Mexican Rafa Márquez and was only one match behind Diego Armando Maradona, who in his four World Cups wore captaincy in sixteen.

However, Leo Messi could not shorten the gap with Gabriel Batistuta in the race to be the top scorer for the albiceleste in a World Cup.

The Paris Saint Germain player has eight, the same as Diego Armando Maradona. Batistuta closed his career with ten in the competition. He was able to close the gap to Messi by executing a penalty that was saved by the Polish goalkeeper. (D)