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Lionel Messi who played his last match of the FIFA World Cup on Sunday against France is loved and adored across the world by fans. In his final game at the tournament, Messi created various records.
Let's look at all the records broken by Messi in the summit clash between Argentina and France:
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1. Most appearances in FIFA World Cup
As soon as the star footballer entered the field in the final game, Messi became an all-time record holder to play the most games in the World Cup. By making his 26th appearance in the tournament, he surpassed Lothar Matthaus with 25 appearances.
Following is the list of the top 5 players with the most appearances in FWC:
- Lionel Messi - 26
- Lothar Matthaus - 25
- Miroslav Klose - 24
- Paolo Cesare Maldini - 23
- Cristiano Ronaldo - 22
2. The only player to score goals in all knockout matches.
The star player scored the first goal for his team in the summit clash and helped his team take a strong lead in the 23rd minute of the game. By scoring the goal, Messi became the only player in the history of football to score goals in every round of a single tournament. Messi scored in the group stage, the round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and the final.
3. Most wins by a player in the World Cup:
Argentina defeated France in a thrilling match that went into extra time and then to penalty shootout. By winning his 17th game at the tournament, Messi became the joint holder to win the most World Cup matches along with Germany's Miroslav Klose.
4. Most minutes played in the history of the World Cup:
Messi broke Italy legend Paolo Maldini's record of 2,217 minutes. Messi who had played 2,194 minutes in the WC before the final, became the player to play for the most minutes as soon as he spent 23 minutes on the field.
In the first semis, Argentina defeated Croatia to advance to the summit clash 3-0. On the other hand, France defeated Morocco 2-0 to make their way to the final.
5. The First player to win two golden balls:
The golden ball is awarded to the player with the best all-rounder performance in the tournament. By getting the golden ball, Messi became the first player in the world to receive the award twice.
Argentina's road to victory -
- Match 1: Argentina vs Saudi Arabia - Loser (1-2)
- Match 2: Argentina vs Mexico - Winner (2-0)
- Match 3: Argentina vs Poland - Winner (0-2)
- Round of 16: Argentina vs Australia - Winner (2-1)
- Quarterfinals: Argentina vs Netherlands - Winner on penalties (4-3)
- Semifinals: Argentina vs Croatia - Winner (3-0)
- Final: Argentina vs France - Winner on penalties (4-2)