Argentina captain Lionel Messi broke the record for most appearances at the World Cup as he led his team to victory over France in the final on Sunday night.
The final, which marked Messi’s 26th World Cup game, saw Argentina defeat France 4-2 on penalties after the game ended 3-3 after extra time.
Messi scored two goals during the final, thereby bringing his final tally to seven goals for the tournament. This is just one less than Kylian Mbappe, who scored a hat trick in the final to take his tally to eight and thereby win the Golden Boot award.
In addition to breaking the record of 25 appearances previously held by Germany’s Lothar Matthaus, Messi also becomes the first Argentinian to appear in five World Cups. The player has appeared in every one of Argentina’s games at the competition since the 2010 edition.
With his goal against Croatia in the semifinal, Messi became Argentina’s all-time leading goalscorer at the World Cup with 11 goals. He is now sitting on 13 goals thanks to his brace in the final.
This is Argentina’s third World Cup victory and the nation’s first triumph since 1986.
