From one emblem of the selected to another. Gabriel Omar Batistuta congratulated Lionel Messi this Saturday after the man from Rosario equaled the record for goals by an Argentine footballer at the World Cup (10) with the goal scored on Friday in the 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, ended then with a victory on penalties that placed the team led by Lionel Scaloni in the semifinals of the tournament that is taking place in Qatar.
“Dear Leo, congratulations! I held the record for 20 years and enjoyed it. It is now a great honor and pleasure to share it with you. Hoping with all my heart that you can overcome it already in the next match!” Batistuta, 53, wrote on his Twitter account.
The striker born in the Reconquista, who was champion of the 1991 and 1993 editions of the Copa América with the Albiceleste shirt, played in three World Cups (12 games) and was able to shout in all of them: in the United States in 1994 he scored three goals against Greece and one against Romania; in France in 1998 he converted three in Jamaica, one in Japan and one in England; and in South Korea-Japan 2002 he scored the only one in the win against Nigeria on his debut.
Messi, for his part, reached ten in his fifth World Cup (he played 24 matches), even if in one of them (South Africa 2010) he went zero: in Germany 2006 he scored against Serbia and Montenegro; in Brazil 2014 played in the first round against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Nigeria (two); in Russia 2018 he scored again against the Nigerians in the group stage and in Qatar he scored four times: against Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Australia and the Netherlands.
With poker signed since his arrival in Qatar, Leo has already left behind Diego Armando Maradona, Guillermo Stábile (each made eight) and Mario Alberto Kempes (six). The Argentine captain has two games ahead to overtake Batistuta as well. The first will be against Croatia at Lusail Stadium on Tuesday for one of the semi-finals of the tournament.
After matching the mark of the former Fiorentina and Roma player, among other clubs, Messi has expressed his delight at reaching this milestone. “I knew about the Bati. I’m happy to be at the level of a historic goalscorer like him,” said the Paris Saint-Germain player after the duel against the Netherlands.
Source: Clarin
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