Lionel Messi, 35, the greatest player in the history of Argentine football along with Diego Maradona (1960-2020), will end his career with a World Cup title under his belt.
The World Cup in Qatar, in which Argentina overcame France in the final, was the last of his country’s top scorer, with 98 goals (in 172 games).
The captain of the Alviceleste team played 26 games in World Cups, scoring 13 goals and giving eight assists (goal passes).
In Qatar, Messi scored seven goals, against Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Australia, Holland, Croatia and France (2) –the tally could be higher, but he missed a penalty, against Poland— and contributed three assists.
The number 10 registered some relevant marks during the campaign in the first World Cup in the Middle East.
He is the player who has played the most times in World Cup matches, 26 times, one more than midfielder Lothar Matthäus, captain of Germany in winning the 1990 Cup.
He became one of the athletes with the most appearances in World Cups (5), alongside the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, the German Matthäus and the Mexicans Antonio Carbajal, Rafa Márquez and Andres Guardado.
By playing six games in Qatar, he became the footballer who most often acted as captain in Cups (18), expanding his mark to 19 when participating in the final. Mexican Rafa Márquez comes next, having worn the stripe in 17 games.
Messi, with the seven balls he scored in Qatar, still reached 13 goals in Cups, leaving behind compatriots Gabriel Batistuta (10), Maradona and Guillermo Stábile (both 8).
Overall, he equaled the French Fontaine (13 goals) and is behind only the Germans Klose (16) and Gerd Müller (14) and Ronaldo Fenômeno (15)
It was undoubtedly Messi’s best Cup, a gala farewell to one of the best players of all time. Remember below how his performance was in the other four in which he was present.
Germany-2006
At the age of 18, Messi was a substitute in his first World Cup, in which he still did not own the number 10 shirt, which belonged to Riquelme, nor the starter.
He scored in his first World Cup game, coming off the bench in the 6-0 defeat of Serbia and wearing the number 19 shirt, in the group stage.
Did not participate in the quarterfinal match against Germany. Argentina went down in the penalty shootout.
South Africa-2010
Four years older, Messi was already a footballing celebrity, with the title, artillery and number 10 at Barcelona.
However, under the command of Maradona, coach of Argentina in the African Cup, Messi failed to score a single goal, even though he played every minute of all five matches.
The Argentines fell in the quarterfinals again, again against Germany, humiliated by a 4-0 defeat.
Brazil-2014
In terms of goals, this was the World Cup in which Messi, for the first time as captain of Argentina, was more productive compared to the previous ones: four goals (one against Bosnia, one against Iran, two against Nigeria). All in the group stage.
In the knockout stages, even without scoring goals, he led the team to the final, in which, once again, he and his teammates faced Germany, the tormentors of the previous two World Cups.
Messi had only a regular performance, and the Germans won the decision at Maracanã by 1-0, in overtime.
Russia-2018
After announcing, frustrated with the runner-up in the 2016 Copa América, that he would no longer play for the national team, Messi turned back and led Argentina in the Qualifiers.
In the Russian World Cup, however, he was far short of the, at the time, five times the best player in the world.
Once again captain, he played all the time in all matches, but scored a single goal, in the first phase, against Nigeria, succumbing in the round of 16 against France (4-3), who would later win the second world championship.
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