Argentine forward Lionel Messi claims that Diego Maradona would be very thrilled following his victory as Argentina’s most capped player at a World Cup.

Argentina's 2-0 victory over Poland on Wednesday earned them first place in Group C and a matchup with Australia in the round of 16. Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi was heavily involved in the victory.

"I only learned about this record recently," Messi said when told about his latest achievement.

"It's a pleasure to be able to continue achieving these kinds of records. I think Diego would be super happy for me because he's always shown me a lot of affection. He was always happy when things went well for me."

With the score tied, Wojciech Szczesny stopped a penalty shot from Messi, who was playing in the competition for the 22nd time overall—one more than his old mentor Maradona.

Messi could yet take another record from Maradona, as the 63 chances he has created at World Cups in recorded history is second only to his compatriot, who created 67.

The 35-year-old scored in Argentina's opening two games in Qatar, a 2-0 victory over Mexico and a shocking 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia, before going scoreless against Poland.

His seven shots against Poland were his most for Argentina without a goal since a 1-1 draw with Iceland at the 2018 World Cup (11).

However, thanks to goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez in the second half, Argentina got the victory they needed and are now the heavy favorites to beat Australia.

"After the first goal, everything went our way," said Messi, who was part of the Argentina squad that finished runners-up to Germany at the 2014 World Cup.

"We started doing again what we had been trying to do since the start of the World Cup, but which we hadn't been able to achieve for various reasons.

"Having been able to do it today, it gives us confidence for the future."

On Saturday, Messi will try to score in the World Cup's knockout rounds for the first time because all eight of his previous goals came in the group stage.

In 23 attempts, he has failed to score after the opening round, although in the final 16 in the 2010, 2014, and 2018 competitions, he did contribute.