Argentina star Lionel Messi simultaneously had a night to remember and one to forget when he broke a longstanding Diego Maradona World Cup record in their clash against Poland on Wednesday, but also achieved an unwanted feat.
The forward had an eventful match against the Poles as he was able to secure not one but two records during La Albiceleste's 2-0 win over Robert Lewandowski's side.
Read: Poland star: I could be banned for bet with Messi
With Messi named in Lionel Scaloni's starting line-up for the tie, the Paris Saint-Germain forward made his 22nd World Cup appearance, surpassing Maradona who previously held this record for Argentina with 21 tournament outings.
The legendary footballer, who passed away at the age of 60 in November 2020, could have secured more appearances in the competition but was sent home early from the 1994 World Cup after testing positive for ephedrine doping.
Messi had the chance to get his name on the scoresheet in the highly anticipated World Cup clash against the Poles as he won a penalty, but his spot-kick was saved by Wojciech Szczesny.
That miss ensured that the 35-year-old has now missed two of his three penalty-kicks at World Cups, excluding shootouts, the most by any footballer since 1966, according to Goal.
Following the victory, Messi spoke about surpassing Maradona in World Cup matches.
"I learned it recently, I didn't know it," the forward said, per Goal.
"It's a pleasure to be able to continue to achieve these kinds of records.
"I think Diego would be super happy for me because he always showed me a lot of affection, he was always happy when things went well for me."
Read: Argentina grab top spot, Poland scrape into last 16
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