GOAT for a reason: Lionel Messi needed just one goal in World Cup 2018 to clinch yet another world record

Going into their final group match of World Cup 2018, which happened to be a must-win for Argentina, their captain and best player, Lionel Messi, was massively criticised for not standing up for the team.

In the first two games, Argentia drew against Iceland followed by a crushing 0-3 loss to Croatia and Messi was yet to enter the score line.

However, against Nigeria, Messi took just 14 minutes to put his country 1-0 up on Tuesday. Jubilant over his first goal of the tournament, the captain lifted his arms to the sky in a gesture replicated by the man who led Argentina to its last World Cup trophy in 1986, Diego Maradona, from his spot in the stands.

It was Messi’s 100th goal of 2018 and it was his first World Cup goal in 662 minutes of football, his last previous World Cup goal came against Nigeria as well, in 2014.

Although it was Marcus Roja’s strike in the 86th minute that won Argentina the match, Messi’s early certainly would have boosted Argentina, who otherwise were low in confidence.

By netting his maiden goal in World Cup 2018, Messi registered yet another world record – he became the the first player to score a World Cup goal as a teenager, in his 20s and in his 30s.

Lionel Messi is the first player to score a World Cup goal in his teens, 20s and 30s. pic.twitter.com/XncHQxy9u3

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 26, 2018

As a 19-year-old Messi had scored his maiden World Cup goal in the 2006 World Cup during Argentina’s match against Serbia and Montenegro.

On Tuesday night at the Saint Petersburg Stadium, letting his emotions out post the 2-1 win over Nigeria, Messi said, “We knew God was with us and wasn’t going to let us go out.

It was a difficult match because of the results before and many other things that have been said,” Messi explained.

Argentina are among the most football-crazy nations in the World Cup and Argentine fans have suffered the most as their side had been disappointing match after match in this tournament. Thanking the fans for their patience, Messi said, “We knew it was going to be difficult but fortunately we have achieved our aim. We didn’t think that we were going to suffer as much as we have.

We were quite confident that we would be able to go through and fortunately it became true. I thank all the fans that are here, for all their sacrifice and to all those in Argentina that were always with us. The shirt of the national team is above all else.”