The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is expected to be the last World Cup in which Argentine star Lionel Messi will participate, who is looking forward to achieving the first world title in his remarkable career and gifting his country a title that has been absent from the tango team’s coffers since the coronation of the World Cup in Mexico 1986 led by the legend Diego Maradona.
According to a report published by the Spanish newspaper, Marca, the World Cup in Qatar will be an opportunity for Messi, not only to win the World Cup, but also to achieve records and other personal achievements with his country, in the number of matches and the number of goals in the World Cup finals.
The record for the number of matches played by an Argentine player in the World Cup finals is still held by the legend Maradona, who participated in 4 sessions: 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1994, and played 21 games, the last of which was against Nigeria on June 25, 1994, a match during which it was proven that drug abuse Maradona banned substances, and his last World Cup was a player.
The match between Argentina and Nigeria in the first round of the 1994 World Cup witnessed the last appearance of the legend Maradona in the World Cup as a player (Reuters)
During that edition hosted by the United States of America, Maradona's participation stopped at two matches, since he did not participate in the Bulgaria match in the last round of the first round and against Romania in the final price round.
As for Lionel Messi, the closest pursuer of the late legend Maradona, he is preparing to participate in the World Cup for the fifth time, after he was present with the Tango team in the sessions: 2006, 2010 and 2014, in which he reached the final and lost the title against Germany (0-1) and 2018.
When he participates in the match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia, in the first round of the first round of the Qatar World Cup, on November 22, 2022, Messi will be the only Argentine to participate in 5 final tournaments of the World Cup, but not only that, as he will play his 20th match in the finals. If he plays all the group stage matches, he will break Maradona's record and become the most player to hold the Argentina shirt in the World Cup with 22 games, according to Marca.
The legend Messi participated with Argentina in 4 copies of the World Cup: 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 (Getty)
Batistuta's number is in danger
The Spanish newspaper adds that in addition to chasing Maradona's achievement in the race for the number of matches with Argentina in the World Cup, the achievement of former striker Gabriel Batistuta will be a goal for Bolga, who is the best Argentine scorer in the World Cup with 10 goals scored in 3 copies: 1994, 1998 and 2002.
Batistuta's numbers, Argentina's top scorer and former Italian Fiorentina icon, seem a difficult task for Messi to break in the Qatar World Cup 2022, as the Paris Saint-Germain star currently has 6 goals in the World Cup finals with his country, and needs 4 goals to equal Batistuta's number.
If Messi scores 5 goals, he will be the best scorer in the history of Argentina’s participation in the World Cup, and the owner of the largest number of matches, in addition to other achievements with the “Smiling Sun Country”, as the most player in international matches with 164 games and the best scorer in the history of the team with 90 goals. .
Gabriel Batistuta (right) is Argentina's all-time top scorer in the World Cup with 10 goals in 3 editions (Reuters)