The match has come as the Portugal forward gears up for his first game in Saudi Arabia since joining Al Nassr.
Browsing: Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi will return to Paris St Germain at the beginning of January, the French club’s head coach Christophe Galtier…
The 35-year-old forward, who has won the Ballon d’Or seven times, helped Argentina lift the World Cup trophy.
The 35-year-old has arguably cemented his status as the greatest player of all time after leading his nation to their first World Cup triumph since 1986 after beating France on penalties in the final on Sunday.
This was the the country holds a national holiday to welcome home captain Lionel Messi and the triumphant team.
Qatar 2022 has turned out to be the most expensive World Cup tournament so far, with the tiny, oil-rich Middle Eastern country shelling over $200 billion to host the competition.
The captain of the national team scored twice in the final in Doha, taking his tally of goals at the tournament to seven.
The crowing of Messi by Tinubu via the social media came minutes after Argentina won the World Cup on Sunday.
“I want to keep experiencing a few more matches as world champion,” the 35-year-old told Argentinian television.
It meant that after his record 26th World Cup match, at the fifth and final time of asking, the 35-year-old Messi claimed the trophy….
In what many have dubbed to be the World Cup of the underdogs, Argentina bounced back from a shocking opening game defeat to Saudi Arabia to beating Mexico, Poland, Australia, Netherlands, and Croatia on their way to the final.
Messi lead Argentina to a 3-0 win over Croatia in their semi-final on Tuesday and will earn his 172nd cap at the weekend when he tries to bring the country its first World Cup title since 1986.
While all eyes were on Argentina captain Messi and his fifth bid to win the one major trophy eluding him, it was 22-year-old Alvarez who stole the show, earning the penalty before opening his own account at the end of a scintillating 50-metre run.
The 35-year-old has been a standout performer for his country in Qatar and has contributed to six of their nine goals in five matches, netting four times and providing two assists.
Emiliano Martinez saved the first two Dutch penalties to give Argentina a huge advantage and Lautaro Martinez sent Andries Noppert the wrong way to set up a date for the South Americans with Croatia in the semi-finals on Tuesday.
Thirty-two teams have been reduced to eight. At this stage, if you can’t be good for 90 or 120 minutes, then just be lucky
In his fifth World Cup in Qatar, the “magician” finally scored his first ever World Cup knockout goal for Argentina.
Messi reached the landmark in the Group C game against Poland in Doha where Argentina had to avoid defeat in order not to be eliminated.
The result however ensured that both teams booked their places in the knockout stages of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
After a dominant first half, Argentina failed to secure all three points after having two goals cancelled before the half time whistle. Seven time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi, scored the only goal of the match for his side through a penalty in the first ten minutes of the match.