Messi came to this edition with six goals in his personal account, spread over three World Cups (2006, 2014 and 2018). To this is added the penalty that he converted in the 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia in the debut, the goal that opened the way to the 2-0 victory over Mexico on the second day, the first against Australia in the 2-1 of the eighth and now the 2-0 in the quarterfinals against the Dutch.
He was left without scoring in the other match played by Argentina so far in the tournament, the 2-0 victory over Poland, where the “Flea” even missed a penalty.
The goal against the Mexicans had allowed Messi to reach a total of eight and thus equalize Diego Maradona, which achieved that figure in the four editions it played (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994). He surpassed it with the goal against the Australians.
Batistuta played three World Cups. Four of his conquests were in his debut edition, in the United States in 1994, where in the first game he signed a hat-trick against Greece (4-0).
In France 1998, “Batigol” scored five goals, including a hat-trick in the 5-0 win over Jamaica, and in South Korea/Japan 2002 he signed his tenth and last goal for Albiceleste in a World Cup, in a 1-0 victory over Nigeria on debut.
In the case of Messi, the first World Cup goal was in his first match in the tournament, when in 2006 he came on as a substitute in place of Maxi Rodríguez in the 6-0 victory over Serbia and Montenegro, on the second day of their group. The then Barcelona player put the sixth on the scoreboard that afternoon.
It is more difficult for Messi to reach the maximum historical scorer in a World Cup, since the record is held by the German Miroslav Klose, with 16.
The record for the number of goals in the same World Cup has been held since Sweden 1958 by the Frenchman Just Fontaine, with 13, an amount that at the moment seems far beyond the reach of Messi, who in Qatar 2022 accumulates 4 celebrations.
Source: Ambito
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