Another day nearer to the 2022 FIFA World Cup kick-off means it’s time for another trip down memory lane to look at one of the stars of tournaments gone by. Today’s Hero has more World Cup goals for Argentina than Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. He is the only man in history to score a hat trick at more than one edition of the tournament… Batigol, Gabriel Batistuta.
Undoubtedly one of the best World Cup goalscorers of all time, Batistuta’s relationship with football’s premiere tournament is a complicated one. Despite the individual success he achieved, Argentina consistently disappointed in all three of his appearances at the FIFA World Cup, despite being amongst the pre-tournament favourites.
1994 FIFA World Cup
Firstly, at USA 94, Argentina, who went in as pre-tournament favourites, kicked off in perfect style. Batistuta got the first of his World Cup hattricks in a 4-0 thrashing of Greece. However, it was the other man who got on the scoresheet that day, eventually costing Batistuta and the rest of the Argentina team.
Diego Maradona was a player never far from controversy. After testing positive for a banned substance, the Argentina captain was kicked out of the World Cup, leaving the Argentine squad under a black cloud.
Despite Batistuta scoring his fourth goal in as many games against Romania in the last 16, it wasn’t enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat, sending Argentina packing in one of the most disappointing results in the nation’s history.
1998 FIFA World Cup
France 98, and big things were again expected from Batistuta and Argentina. During the group stage, Batigol was at his destructive best, first scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Japan and then getting his second World Cup hat trick as Argentina ran riot 5-0 vs Jamaica.
Batistuta took his tally to 5 for the tournament when he gave his side an early lead against England in the last 16. Argentina eventually won on penalties to reach the quarter-finals against the Netherlands. Unfortunately for Batistuta and Argentina, it would be heartbreak again, as a 90th-minute winner from Dennis Bergkamp saw the Netherlands through to the semis.
2002 FIFA World Cup
Batistuta gave it one more shot at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. For the third successive tournament, he scored for Argentina in the opening group game, giving them a 1-0 victory over Nigeria. This was followed by a disappointing defeat to England, which left Argentina needing to beat Sweden to qualify from the group. A 1-1 draw was all they could manage, however, sending them crashing out at the group stage for the first time ever.
Finishing his World Cup career with an awe-inspiring 10 goals in 12 games, Batistuta was also Argentina’s all-time top scorer with 56 in 78 caps until Lionel Messi came along. When asked about Messi taking his record, Batistuta quipped, “I’m second to an extraterrestrial.”
The end of another of our look back at a FIFA World Cup Hero means another day closer to the start of Qatar 2022. Join us again tomorrow for more reminiscing as we continue our build-up.