This might be Lionel Messi’s last time competing in a FIFA World Cup, and there’s no doubt he is making the most of his time on the pitch this tournament.
Argentina dominated the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, placing first in Group C’s standings, beating out Poland and ultimately eliminating Mexico and Saudi Arabia from advancing in the tournament.
In their first group phase game, Argentina was surprisingly upset by Saudi Arabia when they lost the match 2-1. The second game was their redemption opportunity and they achieved just that when they beat Mexico 2-0. In their third game, the Blue and Whites beat Poland 2-0 and managed to advance to the knockout phase.
During the knockout phase, otherwise known as the round of 16, Argentina dominated Australia – and there was no surprise that was going to happen with the work of Messi, Julian Alvarez and Papu Gomez up on top.
Argentina was eliminated in the round of 16 during the 2018 World Cup when France beat them 4-3, so this win was big for Messi & Co.
Now Argentina will advance to the quarterfinals where they will take on the Netherlands, who clinched a 3-1 victory over the United States on Saturday. But before we get into the next phase of the 2022 World Cup, let’s take a look back at Argentina superstar Messi and his goals thus far:
How many goals has Messi scored in the 2022 FIFA World Cup so far?
So far, Argentina’s best-known forward Messi has scored three goals throughout this year’s World Cup tournament.
When did Messi score each goal?
Messi’s three goals occurred throughout three out of four of Argentina’s games played. The first goal was scored in Argentina’s first group stage game against Saudi Arabia, the second goal was scored in a group stage game with Mexico, and the third goal was scored during Argentina’s round of 16 matchup with Australia.
What did each goal look like?
Messi’s first goal:
During Argentina’s World Cup opener, which turned out to be a devastating 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia, Messi scored Argentina’s lone goal on a penalty kick in the 10th minute.
The penalty kick opportunity came after a VAR review that determined Leandro Paredes was taken down in the box by Abdulelah Al Malki. Messi knocked the ball into the left side of the net for an easy 1-0 lead.
This first 2022 World Cup goal for Messi made him the first Argentine player to score in four different World Cup tournaments (2006, 2014, 2018, 2022).
Messi’s second goal:
The next shot Messi sunk into the net occurred during Argentina’s 2-0 domination over Mexico, which was their second group stage battle of the tournament.
During the match, both Messi and his fellow teammate midfielder Enzo Fernandez scored for the Blue and Whites. Messi’s goal, which was a strike from outside the box, came after 63 minutes of deadlock.
Messi’s third goal:
Messi didn’t score in Argentina’s third game, which was the group stage finale against Poland. Though Argentina’s beat Poland 2-0, the 35-year-old forward had a penalty kick that was blocked by Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny.
The superstar’s third goal occurred during Argentina’s fourth fixture, which was their round of 16 battle against Australia where they dominated 2-1.
This goal, which was Messi’s ninth career World Cup goal, broke a scoreless tie and gave Argentina the 1-0 lead over Australia in the 35th minute. It was Messi’s first knockout stage goal scored and ultimately brought Argentina closer to the 2022 World Cup trophy.