sportbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Lionel Messi broke two World Cup records in the same minute against France

Lionel Messi broke two World Cup records in the same minute against France

Messi completed football on Sunday.

Lionel Messi broke two records in the same minute of Argentina's World Cup final victory over France.

Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties on Sunday evening after a thrilling 3-3 draw in regulation time at Lusail Stadium.

Messi opened the scoring in the 23rd minute from the penalty spot after Ousmane Dembele shoved Angel Di Maria to the ground.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner sent Hugo Lloris the wrong way to give Lionel Scaloni's side a well-deserved lead.

It was Messi's sixth goal of the tournament, making him the first player to score in every knockout round of a World Cup.

Messi scored against Saudi Arabia and Mexico in the group stages, before netting against Australia in the round of 16.

The Paris-Saint Germain then scored a hat-trick of spot kicks against the Netherlands, Croatia and France before adding a second in extra time.

Sensationally, Messi would break another record just seconds later. He played his 2116th minute of World Cup action in the 23rd minute, putting him ahead of Italy legend Paolo Maldini's record.

Messi celebrates Argentina's World Cup triumph. (Image
Alamy)

Argentina doubled their lead in the first half after Angel Di Maria finished off a lovely team move.

France were lethargic throughout the opening 45 minutes, with manager Didier Deschamps deciding to make two first-half substitutions.

Dembele and Olivier Giroud were hooked for Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram, who played key roles in the former world champions' late revival.

Nicolas Otamendi fouled Kolo Muani, which saw referee Szymon Marciniak point to the spot for a second time.

Kylian Mbappe stepped up to half the deficit. What followed a minute later was quite spectacular.

France worked the ball back up the pitch, with Thuram gently putting the ball into Mbappe's path with his chest.

Messi with the World Cup trophy. (Image
Alamy)

The 23-year-old rifled home a volley too hot for Emiliano Martinez to handle to level the scores against the run of the game.

Messi restored Argentina's lead in extra time after Lloris saved Lautaro Martinez's close-range strike. More drama would follow as Gonzalo Montiel was judged to have handled Mbappe's long-range effort.

Marciniak awarded his third penalty of the game, which Mbappe converted as cool as you like. It means he's the first player since Sir Geoff Hurst for England in 1966 to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

It was all for naught, however, as Argentina won the shootout 4-2 to clinch their third World Cup and first since 1986.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Lionel Messi, Argentina, Football World Cup