Messi has surpassed Diego Maradona in terms of World Cup appearances and goals.
The Argentina number 10 has drawn level with his predecessor on two critical metrics that highlight their respective creative talents.
Argentina advanced to the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Australia on Saturday, with Messi scoring the tenth goal of his World Cup career to give Lionel Scaloni’s squad a 1-0 lead in the first half.
With those two goals, Messi moved up to 23 World Cup appearances this year, two more than the previous national team record held by his late compatriot and fellow number 10 jersey wearer Maradona, who finished his career with eight goals.
The fact that Messi is one goal short of Gabriel Batistuta’s record of 10 World Cup goals for Argentina may be on his mind as he prepares to face the Netherlands on Friday.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward is breaking records as he goes during this tournament, and in that match against Louis van Gaal’s club, he will undoubtedly surpass two more Maradona records.
This is due to the fact that in terms of chances produced and opportunities presented during an open play during the World Cup, Messi and Maradona are currently exactly equal.
According to Opta data, they have both generated 67 opportunities, 48 of which have resulted from open play for each player.
In total, Messi produced four chances for Argentina against Australia, one of which was a fantastic opening for replacement Lautaro Martinez, who wastefully blasted it late in the game as Argentina sought to defeat their valiant opponents.
When it comes to goal assists, Maradona tops Messi. Compared to Messi’s total of six assists since making his World Cup debut at the 2006 finals, Maradona’s eight from 1982 to 1994 are superior.
Maradona led Argentina to victory at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and later served as the team’s coach, most notably at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
At the age of 60, he passed away in November 2020.
Messi played his 1,000th match for club and country on Saturday against Australia.