Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi’s dream of matching late great Diego Maradona’s Argentina legacy.
On Saturday, the forward who has won the Ballon d’Or seven times tied Maradona with eight goals and a record 21 appearances for his country at the World Cup.
Messi’s brilliant low shot from outside the box helped Argentina beat Mexico 2-0 and move into second place in Group C, just as Mexico’s hopes of winning were starting to fade and fear was starting to set in.
Gabriel Batistuta is the top scorer for Argentina at the World Cup, with 10 goals. However, “Batigol” should have more chances to catch “Batigol” after his winning goal.
The real dream is to win the World Cup like Maradona did in 1986, but Messi can be happy with tying Maradona’s record for World Cup appearances and goals two years and one day after ‘El Pelusa’ died.
The curly-haired playmaker helped Argentina win the World Cup in Mexico in 1986. He also played in the tournaments in 1982, 1990, and 1994.
Some people say Messi can’t be the best of all time until he wins the World Cup, and in Argentina, Maradona’s shining World Cup legacy often helps him in comparisons, with his flawed genius beating Messi’s near-perfection.
Argentina won their second World Cup 36 years ago in Mexico. Maradona scored five goals and set up another five.
Messi was born almost a year later, but Argentina has not won the World Cup in his lifetime.
The Albiceleste captain was able to get the team to finish second in 2014. Argentina lost the final to Germany 1-0 in extra time in Rio de Janeiro.
Argentina’s No. 10 from Paris Saint-Germain, who was playing in his fifth World Cup, scored from the penalty spot in their first game, but they were shocked by a loss to Saudi Arabia.
He sometimes came to life against Mexico, but his team was mostly suffocated by their more active opponents.
As Argentina’s hope grew, Messi sent a free kick from a dangerous spot over the crossbar early in the second half.
In the 64th minute, he finally broke the tie by finishing beautifully out of reach of Mexican cult hero Guillermo Ochoa. Later, Enzo Fernandez added a great second goal.
Maradona only scored 15 goals for Argentina in 41 games, while Messi scored 49 in 115. However, some of those goals helped him win the World Cup.
Photo by EPA/Mohamed Messara
