With his first goal in the World Cup knockout round, Lionel Messi scored in his 1,000th professional game, helping Argentina advance to the quarterfinals with a 2-1 victory over Australia on Saturday.
Messi gave Argentina the lead in the 34th minute with a flourish of his fabled left foot. It was his third goal of the competition and ninth goal overall at the World Cup, one more than Diego Maradona.
Argentina scored twice to advance to the quarterfinals against the Netherlands thanks to a goal from Julian Alvarez who capitalized on a harsh touch by Australia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan.
Craig Goodwin's attempt from Australia was deflected into the goal by Argentina player Enzo Fernandez in the 77th minute to give the visitors a consolation victory.
It was a World Cup match too far for Australia's roster of unheralded footballers, who have defied expectations by making it to the knockout round just twice. Australia fell to eventual champion Italy in the round of 16 in 2006.
Perhaps it is a sign for Argentina, which has won three straight games after suffering a devastating defeat to Saudi Arabia in its opening group encounter.
Messi, whose career total stands at 789 goals, might achieve a pinnacle on December 18 by capturing soccer's most prestigious trophy in his fifth and presumably final World Cup appearance.
In this episode, we honor Messi for making his 1,000th appearance in all competitions for club and nation. He has produced a startling amount of attacks at that time, as expected.
Not only spanning one or two years, nor even spanning four or five years. Before we even talk about his otherworldly playmaking abilities, most professional footballers can only dream of having the goal-scoring consistency that Messi has displayed throughout his career.
2012 saw a career-high 91 goals scored in 69 games, which is an absurd performance. Messi hasn't dropped below a rate of one goal every other game in a calendar year since 2008, and his rate of 1.3 goals per game over the course of an entire year is breathtaking. The "GOAT" as described indeed.
It's safe to say that Messi's 1,001st, 1,002nd, and 1,003rd appearances will be anticipated by neutral fans as he attempts to win the World Cup for the first time.