December 01, (THEWILL) – After surpassing Diego Maradona in terms of most appearances for Argentina in a World Cup, Lionel Messi said that the late Argentina icon would be “super happy” with the achievement.
Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Poland on Wednesday, which saw them finish in first place in Group C and a date with Australia in the round of 16, was partly due to the role that the Paris Saint-Germain superstar played in the game.
Messi was featuring in the competition for the 22nd time—one more than his former coach, Maradona and had a penalty saved by Wojciech Szczesny. Fortunately, it did not matter as Argentina won 2-0.
Speaking about the record, Messi said: “I only learned about this record recently. It’s a pleasure to be able to continue achieving these kinds of records. I think Diego would be super happy for me because he’s always showed me a lot of affection. He was always happy when things went well for me.”
The 35-year-old has scored in two games in Qatar, a 2-0 victory over Mexico and a shocking 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia, but could not find the net against Poland. His seven shots against Poland were his most for Argentina without a goal since a 1-1 draw with Iceland at the 2018 World Cup (11).
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
