Argentina captain Lionel Messi achieved two significant milestones during his team’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final victory against England this Wednesday. Although Anthony Gordon put England ahead in the 55th minute following a pass from Morgan Rogers, Argentina rallied late. Enzo Fernandez leveled the score in the 85th minute after a setup by Messi. Shortly after, Lautaro Martinez secured the win for Lionel Scaloni’s squad with a header delivered by another Messi assist.
Data firm OptaJoe noted that Messi successfully completed nine dribbles and provided two assists in this match, becoming the first player since 1966 to accomplish this feat in a single World Cup knockout fixture. Furthermore, the 39-year-old now holds a career total of 12 World Cup assists, with 10 of those occurring during knockout stages. No other player since 1966 has recorded more than eight total assists in the history of the tournament.
