Lionel Messi overtakes Diego Maradona on World Cup goals with first in knockouts

Lionel Messi has overtaken Argentina legend Diego Maradona on World Cup goals with his ninth in the competition overall – and his first in the knockout stages.

Following a fairly uneventful opening half an hour of the last-16 clash between Argentina and Australia, Messi burst into life on 35 minutes as he found space in the area after a short pass from Nicolas Otamendi and slotted a precise low finish into the bottom corner to give the Albiceleste the lead.

It was his third goal of this World Cup on his 1,000th senior career appearance and his 100th game as Argentina captain.

Messi is playing in his fifth World Cup and has scored in all bar one those (2010).

His ninth goal takes him past Maradona and Guillermo Stabile (eight) and leaves him just one behind Argentina's all-time top scorer in World Cups: Gabriel Batistuta.

Batistuta scored 10 goals in World Cups for Argentina, which means Messi is on the verge of yet another record in his extraordinary career.

It was also his 94th goal for Argentina and his 789th for club and country.

More than the numbers, though, he will want to emulate Maradona's achievement from 1986 and lead the Albiceleste to a third trophy in what his surely his final World Cup.