Lionel Messi further cemented his legendary status Saturday, as his goal in the first half helped Argentina defeat Australia 2-1 in the round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Playing in his 1,000th career match, Messi made magic again, sneaking a ball through multiple defenders and past goalkeeper Mathew Ryan with his left foot in the 35th minute:
FOX SoccerMESSI MAGIC u2728ud83cudde6ud83cuddf7<br><br>That's the first knockout stage goal in Messi's FIFA World Cup career <a href="https://t.co/wyzfdVfby3">pic.twitter.com/wyzfdVfby3</a>
The goal was historic for many reasons, at it marked Messi's first in the World Cup knockout rounds, put him past Diego Maradona for the second-most goals by an Argentine at the World Cup and gave him 789 career goals across all competitions:
B/R FootballLEO MESSI SCORES HIS FIRST WORLD CUP KNOCKOUT GOAL ud83cudde6ud83cuddf7 <a href="https://t.