I’ve seen posts circulating the internet stating Messi’s 1000th game played could coïncide with the World Cup final, making it “meant to be”.
Let’s take a look though and see if this is possible.
Requirement #1: Can Argentina make it to the final of the World Cup 2022?
Why, yes, they are one of the favorites if not the favorite.
Requirement #2: Does the match count add up?
This is where it gets tricky. After all, we don’t know how many matches Messi will effectively play in, even if Argentina makes it to the World Cup final.
First things first though, let’s see how many games Lionel has played in his professional career so far.
Club games: 827 games and counting. This is with PSG’s latest match against Ajaccio included.
National team games: 164 games for Argentina’s national team. Also, 5 games for Argentina’s Olympic team. So 169 in total.
Total # of games: 827 + 164 + 5 = 996
With 996 games under his belt since turning pro, in theory it is possible for Messi to play his 1,000th game with Argentina in the World Cup final.
But, it’s very unlikely, and here’s why.
PSG still has 3 games in the French Ligue 1 to play before the break, and 2 in the UEFA Champions League.
Argentina plays a friendly before the start of the World Cup, followed by 3 games in the group stage. After that there’s the round of 16, the quarter-final, semi-final, and final.
Making it a total of 12 possible games played before the World Cup final.
Conclusion
Seeing as Messi only needs to play 3 games before the game where he reaches the 1000 mark, and he is a regular starter for both PSG and Argentina, he will reach that mark long before the final.
All match data consulted on http://www.transfermarkt.com
