Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi was a top performer in the Argentina national team’s 2-0 win over Poland in 2022 FIFA World Cup group stage play.
Messi did not record a goal or an assist against Poland, although he was quite active whenever he maintained possession in the final third. Overall, the Argentine forward created five goal-scoring chances for teammates and also tallied five dribbles in the contest.
As noted by Opta, Messi became the oldest player since 1966 to create five goal-scoring chances and log five dribbles in a World Cup match, besting Diego Maradona’s mark in the 1994 edition of the sport’s biggest tournament.
35y 159d – Lionel Messi is the oldest player on record (since 1966) to create 5+ chances and make 5+ dribbles in a World Cup match, with the previous oldest being Diego Maradona against Nigeria in 1994. Eternal. pic.twitter.com/92PgQre2mh
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 30, 2022
Overall, Messi finished World Cup group stage play with three total goal contributions to go along with a keen 3.0 key passes per match average.
For now, Messi is set to lead the Argentina national team in its upcoming World Cup round of 16 clash against Australia coming up on Saturday.
