In his 1000th game of his career, Lionel Messi scored his first World Cup knockout goal.

In Argentina’s Round of 16 World Cup match against Australia, Lionel Messi scored his first World Cup knockout goal and played his 1000th game overall.

Argentina played a mediocre 35 minutes until Messi’s wizardry handed them the lead.

The PSG player received the ball when Nicolas Otamendi mishandled it, and with his first shot of the match, he curled the ball into the far corner to give his team a 1-0 lead.

After the goal, which moved Messi beyond Diego Maradona as Argentina’s all-time leading scorer at the World Cup, supporters and commentators flocked around the forward, with Jamie Carragher dubbing him “the goat.”

In reply to the ongoing debate over who is the “greatest (player) of all time,” the former Liverpool and England defender simply tweeted an emoji of a goat.

Since making his debut in 2005, Messi has scored 94 goals in 169 international games for Argentina.

It was his first goal in the knockout rounds, but it was also his ninth World Cup goal in 23 appearances after competing in the 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 tournaments.

Messi has a phenomenal track record of excellence and durability, scoring 695 goals in 831 club games for Barcelona and PSG in addition to his 94 goals in 169 international appearances.