History was destined to be made even before the kick off the FIFA World Cup 2022 semifinal between Argentina and Croatia. While Croatia were on the verge of making their second successive appearance in a World Cup final and had a veteran in Luka Modric in their ranks, Argentina were knocking at the door of their sixth World Cup final and they just had to allow the legendary Lionel Messi a chance at perhaps the only major title that is missing from his cabinet.
Eventually, Modric's journey ended but the World Cup dream continued for Messi & Co. Here in this article, we will have a look at some of the records that were broken in this match and other important stats and numbers from the game.
0- That's the number of players who have netted a goal or assisted in different World Cup matches than Argentina's Lionel Messi since the 1966 edition. Currently, the 35-year-old is tied with the Brazilian Ronaldo, having scored or assisted in 13 different World Cup games.
1- Only 1 team [Netherlands (1) vs Argentina in 2014)] have had fewer shots on target in a World Cup semifinal than Croatia managed against Argentina (2).
1- Lionel Messi became the first player to both score and assist in four different World Cup matches. While he did that against Serbia in 2006, he managed to do the same against Mexico, Netherlands and Croatia in the ongoing edition of the tournament (2022).
4- The number of goals scored by Argentina's Julian Alvarez at the FIFA World Cup 2022. He is only the second Argentine to net four goals at a single edition of the tournament below the age of 22.
8- On these many of the last 10 World Cup semifinals that have been played between a European team and a South American team, it is the South American nation which has reached the finals.
11- Messi became Argentina's highest scorer in FIFA World Cup by netting his 11th World Cup goal. He surpassed Gabriel Batistuta's tally of 10 goals.