Lionel Messi Continues Breaking World Cup Records at Age 39

Lionel Messi, the Argentine football star, is further cementing his legacy in World Cup history during the 2026 tournament. In Argentina's recent 3-1 victory over Jordan, Messi scored his 20th World Cup goal, extending his record as the all-time top scorer in the competition, ahead of Kylian Mbappe's 18 goals. Currently 39 years old, Messi leads the 2026 World Cup scoring chart with seven goals, although he has yet to win the tournament's Golden Boot, finishing second in 2022 with seven goals, one behind Mbappe.

Messi has been involved in 12 knockout stage goals (six goals and six assists), setting an all-time record. In his last six knockout appearances, he contributed to ten goals (six goals and four assists). He is the first player in World Cup history to score in eight consecutive tournaments and has scored in five straight knockout matches, a feat previously achieved only by Hungary's Gyorgy Sarosi (1934-1938) and Brazil's Vava (1958-1962). He is just one goal shy of matching Guillermo Stábile's record of eight goals in a single World Cup for Argentina and could challenge the South American record of nine goals held by Ademir of Brazil (1950).

Messi is also the first player to score seven or more goals in two different World Cups (2022 and 2026), with Mbappe potentially joining him, having scored six goals in the current tournament. He has scored against 14 of the 22 teams he faced in World Cups, including Jordan, where he made his 30th World Cup appearance, the most in history, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo's 26. In the round of 16, Messi will tie Miroslav Klose's record with his 14th knockout appearance and could break it if Argentina advances further.

At 39 years and 9 days old, Messi is the third-oldest player to score in a World Cup knockout stage, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (42 years, 39 days) and Pepe (39 years, 283 days). Since turning 35, Messi has scored 14 World Cup goals, far ahead of the next best, Roger Milla of Cameroon, who scored five.