Lionel Messi broke Gabriel Batistuta’s record to become the highest goalscorer for Argentina in the history of the FIFA World Cup. This was Messi’s 11th goal. The Argentina captain scored from the penalty kick to give his side a 1-0 lead against Croatia in the 34th minute in the first semi-final match at Lusail Stadium. Messi has equalled Hungarian great Sandor Kocsis and German goal-machine Jurgen Klinsmann with 11 goals. Only Pele (12), Just Fontaine (13), Gerd Muller (14), Brazil’s Ronaldo (15) and Germany’s Miroslav Klose (16) have scored more goals in FIFA World Cup than Messi. This match was also his 25th World Cup match, the most for any Argentinian player alongside Lothar Matthaus.