By The year 2022 is extremely special for Argentina Football fans. This year marks the last playing year of Lionel Messi in the Fifa World Cup. Fans all over the globe are tuned in to watch the player play his final match in the finals of the Fifa World Cup against France.
While many are excited to experience the feat of Messi’s last World Cup game, others are disheartened to see their hero leave the field forever. That being said, from the first game, to his last Lionel Messi has been a powerhouse football player that has won the hearts of fans on his World Cup Journey.
Who is Lionel Messi?
Lionel Andrés Messi is an Argentinian Footballer that was was born 24 June 1987. Although he was born in Argentina, he moved to Spain to at the age of 13 to join FC Barcelona. Now, the captain of the Argentina FC, the player started his career in October 2004. Messi also helped Barcelona, achieve the first Treble in Spanish Football.
Although today, Messi is a household name, he came from Humble beginnings to reshape the history of Football altogether. He is also known as the GOAT (Greatest of all time) in Football, while also having title ‘La Pulga’ (The Flea) thanks to his diminutive stature as a youngster.
Messi has also been endorsed by Adidas for the most of his career due to his reputation as one of football’s most recognisable faces. Prior to topping Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes of the year for 2019, he held the title of highest-paid player in the world from 2009 to 2014, according to France Football.
On account of the legendary Lionel Messi’s final world cup, here is a trip down memory lane to his debut performance in the 2006 world cup.
Top 5 things to know about Lionel Messi’s Debut World Cup
Lionel Messi’s first match
Lionel Messi made his World Cup debut back in 2006 where he played against Serbia and Montenegro in Argentina’s second group stage match.
18 year old Messi was picked as a wildcard entry
Messi was just 18 when he was picked as a wildcard entry in a talented team coached by Jose Pekerman.
Lionel Messi’s first goal
He scored his first goal against Serbia and Montenegro after he got off the bench to substitute Maxi Rodriguez in the 75th minute. Messi scored his team’s sixth goal in the 88th minute of the game, making it 6-0 for the game and his first goal in his World Cup career.
Maradona is a Messi fan
Diego Maradona was one of the most excited players to see Messi during his World Cup debut and he was found chanting his name from his VIP box in Gelsenkirchen Arena.
Argentina loses the Semi-Final qualifiers to Germany
During the qualifiers of the semi-final match of the 2006 World Cup, Argentina was up against Germany. For this game, Lionel Messi and Riquelme was subbed out and the game went into penalties.It was then when German Goal Keeper, Jens Lehmann managed to save two penalty shots for Germany and took the win with the score being 4-2.
Also, do check out some crazy Last Minute Goals in FIFA!
