World Cup: Former Bundesliga star equals Messi’s assist record | OneFootball

Ivan Perišić matched Lionel Messi’s record of registering assists at four World Cup editions, despite Croatia’s 4-2 defeat to England after a dominant second half. The PSV winger set up former Union Berlin striker Petar Musa.

As reported by BuLi News, this was the latest chapter in the 37-year-old’s World Cup career.

His run began at Brazil 2014, when he scored and assisted in Croatia’s 4-0 win over Cameroon, a match remembered for Alex Song’s red card. He was with Wolfsburg then, and won the DFB-Pokal in 2015.

Four years later he repeated the feat in the 2-1 semi-final win over England. After Kieran Trippier’s free-kick, the then Inter player was involved in both goals as Croatia reached a first-ever final. He also scored against France, and they finished runners-up.

At Qatar 2022 they reached the semi-finals. Perišić supplied two group-stage assists against Canada, then crossed for Josko Gvardiol in the third-place play-off victory over Morocco.

Messi is the only other player on record to assist at four World Cups. The Argentine tied Miroslav Klose for goals after his first World Cup hat-trick against Algeria, and the soon-to-be 39-year-old will hope to stretch his record to five tournaments in the upcoming games.

Perišić also represented Borussia Dortmund and Bayern, winning the Bundesliga with both, and lifted the treble under Hansi Flick in 2019/20. He is Croatia’s second-most-capped player with 155 appearances.

Source: BuLi News