DOHA, December 4 – RIA Novosti. According to the official website of FIFA, Lionel Messi was chosen as the best player of the match played between Argentina and Australia in the 1/8 final of the World Cup held in Qatar.

The meeting was held at the “Ahmed bin Ali” stadium on Saturday and ended with a 2:1 score in favor of the Argentines. Messi scored a goal in the match.

For Messi, this match was the 1000th match of his professional career. Of these, he spent 169 for the Argentina national team, 831 for the Spanish “Barcelona” and the French “Paris Saint-Germain”.

The captain of the Argentina national team scored his ninth goal in the world championships, surpassing Diego Maradona in this indicator. Among the Argentines, only Gabriel Batistuta has scored more goals in the world championships (10). The goal against the Australians became the first for the 35-year-old Messi in the playoffs at the world championships. He scored for the third time at the tournament in Qatar, catching up with the leaders of the scorers race – Frenchman Kylian Mbappe, Spanish Alvaro Morata, Ecuadorian Enner Valencia, Dutchman Cody Gakpo and Englishman Marcus Rashford.