Lionel Messi has not taken long to get off the mark at the 2022 World Cup with a penalty to make it 1-0 to Argentina against Saudi Arabia.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward showed all his usual quality and composure to step up and put away a cool spot kick, giving his country an early lead as they get started in the tournament in Qatar…
LIONEL MESSI HAS ARRIVED! ???
Argentina's number 10 gets his first goal of World Cup 2022 from the penalty spot inside 10 minutes!!#ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/eUxnno9m7v
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 22, 2022
Cool. Calm. Collected. ?
Messi makes no mistake to net his first goal of this World Cup. ??
? @FOXSoccerpic.twitter.com/wPJGEubKKu
— CBS Sports Golazo ?? (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 22, 2022
This will almost certainly be Messi’s last World Cup, so there’ll be plenty of fans from all over the world rooting for him to finally get his hands on this trophy.
Although the 35-year-old will always go down as a legend of the game, this remains the one major trophy he hasn’t yet got his hands on, and a victory this year would truly cement his status as the best to ever play the game.
Left – penalty for Argentina
Right – no penalty for England
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) November 22, 2022
Still, this penalty decision looked a little soft, as you can see in the images above – it’s not clear how this could have been a nailed-on penalty when Harry Maguire got nothing given for a similar foul in England’s win over Iran yesterday.