Messi faces Saudi ArabiaScores opening goalMakes more history for Argentina
WHAT HAPPENED? The Argentina captain opened the scoring for his team in their first game of the Qatar tournament against Saudi Arabia. Messi scored from the penalty spot after Tottenham’s Cristian Romero was brought down in the penalty area and a spot-kick was awarded after a VAR check.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Messi’s goal means he has become the first player to score in four World Cups with Argentina (in 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022). The Paris Saint-Germain star has overtaken Argentine legends Diego Maradona (1982, 1986 and 1994) and Gabriel Batistuta (1994, 1998 and 2002), who only managed to score in three tournaments.
DID YOU KNOW? Argentina have become the first team in World Cup history to have four players over the age of 34 in their starting lineup, with Messi, Nicolas Otamendi, Angel Di María and Papu Gomez all making Lionel Scaloni’s XI.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI? Argentina’s second group game of World Cup 2022 is on Saturday against Mexico.
Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has shed light on the Gujarat Titans’ potential targets… Read More
India’s talented batter Yashasvi Jaiswal said the presence of veteran batters Virat Kohli and Rohit… Read More
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels South African bowlers can look to bowl short deliveries… Read More
Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said it would be a challenging job for the selectors… Read More
Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath reckons Chennai Super Kings can target Ravi Bishnoi in the… Read More
Legendary Sunil Gavaskar has put his weight behind Virat Kohli to complete century of centuries… Read More