Lionel Messi opened the World Cup with a spectacular hat trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria, silencing doubts about his impact at this age. The performance put him level with Miroslav Klose as the all-time top scorer in World Cup history.
But the numbers behind the match made the display even more remarkable. According to CIES, which tracks player workload, Messi has been the least-running and least-defending player in the world since moving to MLS. In this game, he generated just 1.05 expected goals, yet scored three times.
Over 80 minutes on the pitch, Messi covered only 6.8 kilometers and touched the ball 57 times. For comparison, teammate Lautaro Martinez ran just one kilometer less and was substituted in the 55th minute, while Messi ran only 2 kilometers more than goalkeeper Emi Martinez.
His sprint data was also unusually modest. Messi covered just 62 meters at 25 km/h or faster, across only six bursts, while Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez each logged more than 200 meters of sprinting. Of Messi’s total distance, 6.2 kilometers came walking and about 350 meters at running pace.
