Lionel Messi puts out wholesome post after Argentina advance into FIFA World Cup finals

Lionel Messi took to his official Instagram handle hours after his heroic effort in Argentina vs Croatia semifinal at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Messi contributed with a penalty kick in the 35th minute of the game, before providing a sensational assist to Julian Alvarez, helping the 22-year-old to complete his brace. With the 3-0 victory, Argentina advanced into the summit clash of the prestigious tournament, where they will be joined by the winner of France vs Morocco.

Meanwhile, Messi revealed his feelings after Argentina’s win and recognized the team’s effort to make a comeback to draw strength for another great match. “TO THE END!!!!! We came back to draw strength to play another great match. Thank you very much to everyone who trusted this group!!! Come on Argentina,” Messi wrote on Instagram.

FIFA World Cup records shattered by Lionel Messi during Argentina vs Croatia

It is pertinent to mention that Messi went past Argentine legends like Diego Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta with his phenomenal effort in the semi-final against Croatia. The 35-year-old’s assist to Alvarez in the 69th minute marked his ninth overall assist in the World Cup. With the assist, he went past the legendary Maradona’s tally of eight assists to become the highest assist provider for the national team.

At the same time, Messi’s opening goal of the night took him past Batistuta’s tally of recording the most World Cup goals for Argentina. While Messi leveled the legend with his goals against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, his penalty goal in the game against Luka Modric’s Croatia marked his 11th overall goal for Argentina in the competition. With this goal, Messi became the highest goal scorer for his national team at the marquee football event.

Meanwhile, it is pertinent to mention that Messi has not registered goals and assists in four different World Cup games, which includes the games against Netherlands and Mexico. With this feat, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner became the first player in the history of the tournament to both score and assist in four separate matches. At the same time, he also became the footballer to register the most appearance in the tournament’s history, with the game against Croatia marking his 25th overall.