Lionel Messi becomes Argentina's all-time top scorer in FIFA World Cup history
Argentina captain Lionel Messi made FIFA World Cup history when he scored against Croatia on Tuesday, 13 December, to become his country's all-time top scorer in the tournament.
Messi was level with Gabriel Batistuta on 10 goals heading into the game. La Albiceleste was awarded a penalty when Dominik Livakovic supposedly fouled Julian Alvarez inside the box.
The Croatian keeper stretched himself to save an effort from Alvarez. However, the Manchester City attacker clattered into him. The decision to award the penalty can be considered harsh.
Nonetheless, Messi stepped up and dispatched it with authority to score his 11th goal in the FIFA World Cup. Messi has now scored five goals in the 2022 edition and is leading the race for the Golden Boot.
11 – Lionel Messi has now scored 11 goals at the World Cup, the most of any Argentina player in the competition’s history. Record. https://t.co/0xX0gGJLFb
Argentina are currently leading their semi-final clash against Croatia by a scoreline of 2-0. Apart from Messi, Julian Alvarez got on the scoresheet.
The Manchester City player was central to his country's attack in the first half and got the reward for his toil with a spectacular goal.
Manchester United legend Gary Neville happy to see Lionel Messi team up with Julian Alvarez at the top of Argentina's attack
Gary Neville slammed Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni for constantly changing his team's formation at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, Neville was happy to see Julian Alvarez team up with Lionel Messi in the attack for La Albiceleste.
Speaking on ITV ahead of the game against Croatia, Neville said (via Manchester Evening News):
"The rest of the team is so unsettled in the sense that they’re changing systems game-to-game. You’re thinking you want continuity. Argentina aren’t doing it that way. They’re changing all the time - 4-3-3, 4-4-2, playing a narrow four today, 5-3-2.
"But him [Messi] up front with Alvarez has become a fixture and they recognize that the rest of the team is just there to give a foundation to those two."
Full circle moment for Julian Alvarez 🥺💙 https://t.co/hd7aj8gAKd