Messi is INEVITABLE! Top scorer scores his 20th goal in the World Cup; watch 🎥
Lionel Messi scored his 20th World Cup goal, taking Argentina to the round of 16 against Cape Verde. He continues to break records, including the most goals and assists in World Cup history.
Once again, Lionel Messi showed his value and helped Argentina advance to the round of 16 of the World Cup. La Albiceleste, with the contribution of the number 10, needed his magic to overcome Cape Verde, who made their debut in the World Cup.
The duel between Messi and goalkeeper Vozinha had a moment when the archer managed to save a free kick taken by the Argentine. However, after a cooldown in the match, Messi received a pass from Lisandro MartÃnez, controlled the ball and finished masterfully, with no chance for the opposing goalkeeper, in the 28th minute of the first half. A goal worthy of the star.
Messi also played a crucial role in Argentina's qualifying goal, which came in extra time. With this feat, he reached the impressive mark of 20 goals in World Cups, seven of which in the current edition alone. With that, he distanced himself from Kylian Mbappé, who has 18 goals.
The Argentine star also made history by completing 30 World Cup appearances, a new record. He became the only player to score at every stage of the World Cup, as the new 32-a-side stage is a recent addition to the tournament. Cape Verde became the 14th national team against which Messi scored in World Cups, surpassing the record of Jürgen Klinsmann, who scored against ten different opponents.
Messi also broke a long drought without a player outside Europe scoring at least seven times in a single World Cup. The last one to achieve this was Jairzinho, in 1970, while playing for Botafogo. Furthermore, he took the lead in assists in World Cup history with nine passes, being the only player to have at least seven goals in two different editions of the tournament.
Top World Cup scorers: Lionel Messi 🇦🇷 - 20 goals Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷 - 18 goals Miroslav Klose 🇩🇪 - 16 goals Ronaldo 🇧🇷 - 15 goals Gerd Müller 🇩🇪 - 14 goals Just Fontaine 🇫🇷 - 13 goals Pelé 🇧🇷 - 12 goals
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