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FIFA World Cup 2022: Argentina vs Mexico clash records biggest World Cup crowd in 28 years

As Argentine legend Lionel Messi scored yet another crucial match-winning goal for his side he played in front of 88,966 spectators at the Lusail Stadium north of Doha.

Argentina vs Mexico. Photo credit: Vinod Divakaran/Inside Qatar

Lusail (Qatar), Nov 28: The FIFA World Cup 2022 Group C match between Argentina and Mexico on Saturday (November 27) witnessed the largest attendance at a World Cup game in 28 years.

As Lionel Messi scored yet another crucial match-winning goal for his side, the Argentine legend played in front of 88,966 spectators at the Lusail Stadium north of Doha. The venue will also host the highly-anticipated final on December 18.

Messi was on target against Saudi Arabia and has now scored in six successive appearances for Argentina, making this his joint-best-ever run for his national team. He's now at par with legendary Diego Maradona.

As per FIFA, it was the biggest attendance at the World Cup since the 1994 final in the United States where Brazil defeated Italy. There were 91,194 people at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California when Brazil beat Italy in the penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw.

Saturday's attendance was several hundred more than the figure for the two previous games at Lusail Stadium when Brazil beat Serbia and Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia.

Despite almost 90,000 spectators in attendance for this game, the figures do not rank in the top 30 of all-time World Cup matches. The largest crowd was 173,850 inside the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro in 1950 for Uruguay's 2-1 victory over host Brazil in the final game of that tournament.

Lionel Messi. Argentina vs Mexico. Photo credit: Vinod Divakaran/Inside Qatar

Other stadiums figuring in the top-30 list are the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Wembley Stadium in London and Camp Nou in Barcelona. After an upset against Saudi Arabia which they lost 2-1 despite taking a 1-0 lead in the first half, Argentina returned to winning ways and ignited their World Cup hopes.

Messi took a touch from Angel Di Maria's pass across the face of the area and drove a low shot from 25 metres into the bottom corner in the 64th minute. The 35-year-old ran towards Argentinian fans with his arms outstretched before getting mobbed by his jubilant teammates. He looked emotional as he grabbed and shook his jersey, then blew a kiss to the crowd.

Later in the 87th minute, substitute Enzo Fernandez added a second goal for Argentina and assured his team of a significant victory.

Reacting after his team's win, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner expressed his happiness but stressed there is still plenty of work for his side to do if they are to reach the knockout stages.

"Another World Cup started for us today."

"There were many factors behind the [Saudi Arabia] defeat, such as players playing at a first World Cup and the schedule.

"These are not excuses, but we knew we had to win today. We had to play the way we did because Mexico performed well and have a great coach.

"We calmed down a lot more in the second half and got the goal we needed. We can't give up now; we have finals from this point on and can't make a mistake."

(With agency inputs)

Story first published: Sunday, November 27, 2022, 9:09 [IST]
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