The 2022 FIFA World Cup is approaching as the tournament kicks off in late November. Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi is participating in what could be his competition with an Argentina side fresh off winning the Copa América.
For Messi, the goal is to win the trophy, but the 35-year-old is going for several records at the tournament. Argentine media outlet Olé listed what the PSG forward could accomplish in Qatar.
Messi could be the player with the most appearances at the World Cup. He’s currently sitting at 19 games and needs six games to reach German Lothar Matthaus’s record of 26, and to achieve this, Messi will need to get to the semifinals at least.
However, Messi will likely become the Argentine with the most World Cup appearances as he needs three to pass Diego Maradona’s 21. Additionally, the PSG star will become the Argentine to have played the most World Cups.
The 35-year-old has played in Germany (2006), South Africa (2010), Brazil (2014) and Russia (2018). Qatar would mark his fifth World Cup, which would put him ahead of Maradona and Javier Mascherano, who played four each
One of the last prominent records Messi can achieve at the World Cup is being the Argentine with the most goals at the tournament. The veteran forward has six goals and would need five to pass Gabriel Batistuta, who has 10 goals.
