Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi is in his fifth FIFA World Cup and during Argentina’s matchup against Mexico on Saturday, the 35-year-old came to the rescue as the South American nation needed a win to stay alive and made history.
Midway through the second half, Mexico made the mistake of giving Messi enough space to fire off a quality shot from outside the box that would beat the Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. Then, provided the assist for Argentina’s second goal.
With Messi’s goal and assist against Mexico, Opta Javier pointed out on Twitter that since 1966, the veteran forward was the youngest player (18th 357d against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006) and the oldest (35th 155d today against Mexico) to score a goal and assist in the same World Cup match.
35 – Desde 1966, Lionel Messi 🇦🇷 fue el jugador más joven (18a 357d contra Serbia y Montenegro en 2006) y el de mayor edad (35a 155d hoy ante México) en marcar un gol y asistir en un mismo partido de Copa del Mundo. Inoxidable.#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/H0J0uT5gsu
— OptaJavier (@OptaJavier) November 26, 2022
Despite the performance from Messi, Argentina isn’t out of the woods yet. They will need to get a win over Poland, who are coming off a win against Saudi Arabia, to finish first in the group, which is the ideal situation.
The Albiceleste can advance to the knockout stages with a tie, but that would put them second in the group and in a matchup against France. Hence, why it’s a fixture Argentina wants to avoid, but so does Poland, who need a draw or win to finish ahead of Messi’s squad.
