Watch: Messi scores again as Argentina beats Mexico in front of record World Cup crowd

Day 7 of the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar concluded on a great note for Argentina, ranked no. 3 ranked in the FIFA rankings. Having recovered from the 2-1 loss against Saudi Arabia, Lionel Messi scored his second goal of the current edition of the tournament as Argentina won 2-0 in the historic match. Interestingly, Messi scored the goal in front of the biggest World Cup crowd in 28 years.

The match marked 88,966 spectators in attendance at the Losail Stadium, north of Doha, which will also host the FIFA World Cup 2022 final on December 18. This was the most no. of people that were in attendance since the 1994 FIFA World Cup final in the USA. As per FIFA, a total of 91,194 people were at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where Brazil trounced Italy in a penalty shootout after the game was drawn 0-0.

Watch: Lionel Messi scoring his eighth goal in the FIFA World Cup history

Meanwhile, coming to Saturday night’s game, Messi converted an assist by Angel Di Maria in the 64th minute by going for a low shot from 25 meters away. The ball went into the bottom corner and resulted in Argentina leading the match by 1-0. Celebrating the goal, Messi stretched his arms and ran toward the Argentine supporters who celebrated the goal behind the goalpost. Messi’s teammates also mobbed him within no time. 

'It’s a weight off our shoulders,' says Lionel Messi on his goal vs Mexico

This was Messi’s 93rd international goal of his career, which was important for Argentina in order to keep them in the race for the FIFA World Cup 2022 knockout stage. Coming in as a substitute, Enzo Fernandez scored another goal in the 87th minute and handed the South American side a stellar 2-0 win. With the victory, Argentina rose to second in the Group C points table.

“It’s a weight off our shoulders. It gives us joy and peace of mind to start again,” Messi was quoted as saying by AP, after the match. Shedding light on their emotions after losing their opening game, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner said, “We lived with discomfort and kept the defeat in the opening match in our minds. We were eager to have the chance to turn the situation around and luckily we won. We can’t let our guard down now. All of our matches are finals now. We can’t mess up,” Messi said.