Whether he lifts the trophy or not, Argentina captain Lionel Messi is set to end the 2022 World Cup with a record that has gone unbroken for almost a quarter of a century.
With 24 matches played at men’s World Cup finals under his belt going into this year’s semifinals, Messi needs to make just two more appearances in Qatar to become the player with the most appearances made in tournament history.
As and when Messi takes to the pitch for Tuesday’s semifinal against Croatia, the 34-year-old forward will equal the career record of Germany great Lothar Matthaus, who made 25 World Cup appearances for his country. Win or lose against Croatia, Messi will then almost certainly break Matthaus’ record in Qatar when he either features in Saturday’s third-place playoff at Khalifa International Stadium or Sunday’s final at Lusial Iconic Stadium.
Matthaus’ World Cup record has stood for 24 years, since he made his 25th and last appearance for Germany at France ’98 where, coincidentally, Die Mannschaft were knocked out by Croatia at the quarterfinal stage. A mainstay of the midfield and defence firstly for West Germany and then for the re-unified nation of Germany, Matthaus’ 25 appearances came across five World Cup finals between 1982 and 1998.
It was while he played at Inter Milan, either side of his two spells at Bayern Munich, that Matthaus lifted the World Cup for West Germany as their captain at Italia ’90. Later that year, he won the Ballon d’Or, and the following year he became the first player to be named FIFA World Player of the Year. Although Messi’s combined tally of Ballon d’Or and FIFA awards stands at nine and counting, that shouldn’t detract from the fact that Matthaus was one of the greatest players of his generation and a worthy holder of the appearance record for so long.
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