FIFA World Cup: Lionel Messi becomes first to score at all stages of single WC

Argentina’s star forward Lionel Messi scripted history on Sunday when the 34-year-old footballer scored in the FIFA World Cup final against France in Lusail on Sunday. His goal from the spot in the 23rd minute of the game made him the only player to score in all stages of a World Cup, which includes the group stages, the round of 16s, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final.

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His Sunday’s start was also his 26th appearance in World Cup, making him the most-capped player in the history of the tournament as he surpassed German midfield great Lothar Matthaus.

Messi scored in two of the group games, namely for a losing cause against Saudi Arabia and the second against Mexico in a 2-0 win. He failed to find the net against Poland but was the creator of the goals as Argentina won 2-0. At the round of 16, Messi shone again against Australia as he scored from the spot before assisting Julian Alvarez for the winning goal in 2-1 win.

He continued his form against the Netherlands as well by setting Nahuel Molina for the opening goal before scoring from the spot. The game, however, went into the penalties after Wout Weghorst’s late brace. Messi converted the spot kick again but that didn’t get counted in his goal tally for the golden boot race.

In the semis against Croatia, Messi scored once and assisted Alvarez again in 3-0 win with the later scoring another.

At the time of writing, Argentina led the game 2-0 in the second half with Angel Di Maria scoring the second goal in the 36th minute.

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