7 goals of Messi on the way to winning the World Cup 2022
Messi opened the line of goals at the 2022 World Cup with a penalty that opened the scoring for Argentina in the opening match against Saudi Arabia on November 22. But that day, he did not enjoy the full joy when the home team lost 1-2 by conceding twice in a row in the first eight minutes of the second half.
In the second match, Messi continued to open the scoring with a live ball in the 64th minute, helping Argentina beat Mexico 2-0. The captain striker was only silent in the last match of the group stage, where Argentina also won 2-0 against Poland thanks to goals from Alexis MacAllister and Julian Alvarez.
But in the knock-out stage, Messi exploded continuously with one goal each match until the end of the semi-finals. He was also the one who opened the scoring when Argentina in turn overcame Australia 2-1 in the round of 16, drew 2-2 and then eliminated the Netherlands on penalties in the quarter-finals, beating Croatia 3-0 in the semi-finals.
In the final at Lusail Stadium on December 18, Messi shined even more when he scored twice. He again opened the scoring for Argentina, with a successful penalty kick in the 23rd minute. At the start of the second extra time, the No. 10 striker scored again, with a back-kick after goalkeeper Hugo Lloris missed the shot. Lautaro Martinez's shot.
With these 7 goals, Messi ranks second in the list of goalscorers of the tournament, just behind Kylian Mbappe - who scored 8 goals to win the top scorer. But plus three assists and the role of launching the situation leading to the goal to increase the score to 2-0 in the final, Messi was honored by FIFA with the World Cup Golden Ball - the award for the best player of the tournament.
Messi also set a series of records for the number of games played (26 games), minutes played (2,314 minutes), number of times directly involved in goals - scoring or assisting (21 goals). Besides, he also holds the record for the number of times to receive the Player of the Match award in a World Cup (5 times), is the only person to win the World Cup Golden Ball twice (2014, 2022).
But all the goals and records are just stepping stones for Messi to realize the ambition he pursued throughout his career - winning the World Cup. Victory in the penalty shootout against France at Lusail yesterday helped Messi lift the golden Cup he always wanted, and helped Argentina end 36 years of waiting for this glory, since the generation of Diego Maradona was crowned in Mexico 1986.
