Messi ties World Cup appearance record with Matthaus

Dec 12, 2022, 9:00 PM | Updated: Dec 13, 2022, 11:05 am

Argentina's Lionel Messi waves during the warm up prior to the World Cup semifinal soccer match between Argentina and Croatia at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Argentina's Lionel Messi warms up prior to the World Cup semifinal soccer match between Argentina and Croatia at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Argentina's Lionel Messi controls the ball during warm up before the World Cup semifinal soccer match between Argentina and Croatia at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring Argentina's second goal during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between the Netherlands and Argentina, at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates at the end of the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between the Netherlands and Argentina, at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022. Argentina defeated the Netherlands 4-3 in a penalty shootout after the match ended tied 2-2. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Lionel Messi tied the record for most appearances at the World Cup on Tuesday when he played for the 25th time for Argentina at soccer’s biggest tournament.

Lothar Matthäus of Germany previously held the record outright.

Messi, who is playing in his fifth and likely final World Cup, will have a chance to break the record because Argentina will play in either the final on Sunday or the third-place playoff on Saturday.

Messi has already reached some other World Cup milestones in Qatar.

He surpassed Diego Maradona as the Argentina player with the most appearances in the World Cup during the group stage, and joined Gabriel Batistuta with 10 goals in the tournament by scoring a penalty against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

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