Messi Confirms Qatar Final Will Be His Last World Cup Game
Dec 13 (Reuters) - Lionel Messi has confirmed he will play his last World Cup game when Argentina take on France or Morocco in Sunday's final in Qatar.
Messi lead Argentina to a 3-0 win over Croatia in their semi-final on Tuesday and will earn his 172nd cap at the weekend when he tries to bring the country its first World Cup title since 1986. read more
"I feel very happy, to be able to achieve this, to finish my World Cup journey by playing my last game in a final," Messi told Argentine media outlet Diario Deportivo Ole.
"It's many years for the next one and I don't think I'll be able to do it. And to finish like this, it's the best," added the Argentina captain.
The 35-year-old is playing at his fifth World Cup, surpassing the four of Diego Maradona and Javier Mascherano.
With his fifth goal in Qatar, he also surpassed Gabriel Batistuta as the top Albiceleste scorer at World Cups, netting 11 times.
"It's all well and good (the records), but the important thing is to be able to achieve the group objective, which is the most beautiful thing of all," Messi added. "We're just one step away, after fighting hard, and we're going to give everything to try to make it happen this time."
Tuesday's victory prompted thousands of fans to take to the streets in Argentina to celebrate the national team's sixth World Cup final appearance. read more
France meet Morocco in the other semi-final later on Wednesday.
Reporting by Ramiro Scandolo, with additional reporting by Horacio Soria in Buenos Aires; Writing by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Peter Rutherford
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Qatar 2022 World Cup Daily Schedule: Who Plays Today, 14 December?
GUEZ FRANCK FIFE (AFP) Lionel Messi led Argentina past Croatia to the World Cup final, where they will meet France or Morocco on Sunday.Are there any words left to describe Lionel Messi? It feels almost impossible to find the terminology which does justice to what the Argentina captain has produced out on the field in the Qatar 2022 World Cup (and indeed his career). The Paris Saint-Germain playmaker put in yet another majestic display (I tried) as he led his nation to the World Cup final on Tuesday, scoring from the penalty spot and providing two assists for Julián Álvarez as La Albiceleste cruised past Croatia.
In addition to becoming Argentina’s record World Cup goalscorer in that semi-final clash, Messi equalled the all-time World Cup appearance record of 25 games, set by German Lothar Matthäus in 1998, and, in true Messi fashion, will set a new one when, all being well, he takes to the field in Sunday’s final, which he has confirmed will be his last ever game in a World Cup. The big question is, who are Argentina going to face in Lusail?
Can Morocco cause another 2022 World Cup upset against France?Defending champions France are overwhelming favourites to reach a third final in seven tournaments as they head into the second semi-final against Morocco. But write the Atlas Lions off at your peril. We didn’t think they’d get out of the group stage. We didn’t think they’d beat Spain in the round of 16. We didn’t think they’d defeat Portugal in the quarter-finals. On paper, Les Bleus should win comfortably but soccer isn’t played on paper. Morocco have become the first African and Arab nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup; can they defy the odds yet again?
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Who plays on today, Wednesday, 14 December?14 December: Al Bayt Stadium: France vs Morocco 2:00 pm ET / 11:00 am PT
Third Place play-off17 December: Khalifa International: Croatia-France/Morocco 10:00 am ET / 07:00 am PT
When is the World Cup final?18 December: Lusail Stadium: Argentina-France/Morocco 10:00 am ET / 07:00 am PT
2022 World Cup Top Goalscorers: Updated Leaders For The FIFA World Cup Golden Boot
The 2022 FIFA World Cup features 32 nations competing in soccer’s biggest event in Qatar, the first World Cup ever held in the Middle East. This year marks the final edition of the tournament with a 32-nation field – that number is set to increase to 48 for the 2026 World Cup, which will have venues across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
This year’s Copa Mundial looks different for several reasons, including the dates (due to Qatar’s intense summer heat, the schedule was shifted to November-December instead of its traditional summer timing). But as always, the event features the world’s top fútbol nations vying for global glory as well as individual awards for top performers, including the coveted prize for attacking players: the Golden Boot.
At the last iteration of the World Cup, England’s Harry Kane, also a star for Premier League side Tottenham, took home the award thanks to his six goals, which likely helped soften the blow of the Three Lions falling 2-0 to Belgium in the third-place match. One of the top storylines to watch at this year’s World Cup is the swan song for two of the game’s biggest stars: Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Christiano Ronaldo. Neither player has ever won the Golden Boot, and neither of their teams has won the World Cup during their tenures. Defending champions France will likely field some contenders for the award, including Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud. For more on the latest Golden Boot standings, odds and predictions throughout the tournament, follow along with ProSoccerTalk and NBC Sports Edge.
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What is the Golden Boot?The Golden Boot is the award given to the top goal-scorer at each edition of the World Cup. If at the conclusion of the tournament two or more players are tied at the top of the list with the same number of goals, the award will go to the player with the most non-penalty goals, and if they are still tied, it will go to the player with the most assists. While there has always been a top goal-scorer at the tournament, the specific award has been given since 1982. It was known as “The Golden Show” until its re-christening in 2010.
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Who are the top scorers at 2022 World Cup?1. Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 5 (leads the tiebreaker with 3 assists to Mbappe’s 2)2. Kylian Mbappe (France) – 53. Olivier Giroud (France) – 44. Julian Alvarez (Argentina) – 45. Marcus Rashford (England) – 36. Alvaro Morata (Spain) – 37. Enner Valencia (Ecuador) – 38. Bukayo Saka (England) – 39. Richarlison (Brazil) – 310. Goncalo Ramos (Portugal) – 311. Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) – 312. Mehdi Taremi (Iran) – 213. Bruno Fernandes (Portugal) – 214. Mohammed Kudus (Ghana) – 215. Cho Gue-Sung (South Korea) – 216. Breel Embolo (Switzerland) – 217. Salem Al Dawsari (Saudi Arabia) – 218. Aleksandar Mitrovic (Serbia) – 219. Kai Havertz (Germany) – 220. Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon) – 221. Niclas Fullkrug (Germany) – 222. Ritsu Doan (Japan) – 223. Giorgian de Arrascaeta (Uruguay) – 224. Andrej Kramaric (Croatia) – 225. Robert Lewandowski (Poland) – 226. Ferran Torres (Spain) – 227. Wout Weghorst (Netherlands) – 228. Rafael Leao (Portugal) – 2
Getty Images All past Golden Boot winners (1982-2018)1982: Paolo Rossi (ITA) – 6
1986: Gary Lineker (GBR) – 6
1990: Salvatore Schillaci – 6
1994: Oleg Salenko (RUS) / Hristo Stoichkov (BUL) – 6
1998: Davor Suker (CRO) – 6
2002: Ronaldo (BRA) – 8
2006 – Miroslav Klose (GER) – 5
2010 – Thomas Muller (GER) – 5
2014 – James Rodriguez (COL) – 6
2018 – Harry Kane (GBR) – 6
When is the 2022 World Cup?The World Cup begins Sunday, November 20th with host nation Qatar taking on Ecuador in the opener. The group stage runs through December 3rd before the knockout rounds begin. The final is set to take place on Sunday, December 18th.
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World Cup 2022 schedule, start time, dates, how to watch liveFollow along with Star fun YouTube
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