Messi's World Cup record chase is far from over

Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title after the memorable final against France in Doha, is still adding to his legacy at the 2026 tournament. After a hat-trick against Algeria, he became the all-time top scorer in World Cup history, moving ahead of Brazil's Ronaldo and matching Miroslav Klose with 16 goals.

Messi also broke several age and scoring records. At 38 years and 357 days, he became the oldest player ever to score a World Cup hat-trick, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo by nearly five years. He has now scored six goals from outside the box in World Cups, breaking Rivaldo's previous mark of five, and his outside-the-area goals came against Bosnia, Iran, Nigeria, Mexico, and twice against Kansas in this tournament. He also became the first player to score in World Cups across his 20s, 30s, and 40s, and the first to score in World Cups spread across 20 years.

In the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Messi also set the record for most World Cup appearances and most minutes played, and against Algeria he made his 27th appearance overall. He has captained Argentina 20 times in the tournament, more than anyone else, and shares the record for most World Cup wins with Klose at 17. Messi also shares the all-time assist lead with Diego Maradona at eight, is tied with Pele for most assists in knockout matches with six, and remains the only player to win the tournament's best-player award twice, in 2014 and 2022.

The report says his next big targets are becoming the first player since Cafu to appear in three World Cup finals and, more importantly to him, the first captain ever to win the World Cup twice.