Lionel Messi at the FIFA World Cup: Decoding his stats
What's the story
The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be the last campaign for football great - Lionel Messi. Messi, aged 38, comes into the global tournament as a defending champion with Argentina. He will be hungry to help his side defend the coveted crown. Ahead of the tournament in USA, Canada and Mexico, we decode Messi's World Cup stats.
Messi
Messi is appearing in his 6th World Cup
Messi is appearing in his 6th World Cup. He played in the 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 editions respectively. He was a runner-up in 2014 and then won the 2022 edition. With 26 appearances, Messi is the highest capped player in the tournament's history. He won the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball in 2014, 2022 and FIFA World Cup Silver Boot in 2022.
Goals
Messi owns 13 World Cup goals
Messi has scored the most number of goals (13) for Argentina. Overall, he is only behind the likes of Germany's Miroslav Klose (16), Brazil's Ronaldo (15) and Germany's Gerd Muller (14) in terms of goals. At the moment, Messi is level with France's Just Fontaine in terms of World Cup goals (13).
Information
8 assists for Messi at the World Cup
Messi owns a whopping 61 assists for Argentina across all competitions, including 8 at the World Cup. Interestingly, Messi has recorded the most assists in the knockout rounds (6). He has also made an assist in 5 different World Cup campaigns which is a record.
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Breaking down Messi's World Cup goals tournament wise
Messi scored a goal in his World Cup tournament debut in 2006. After firing blanks in 2010, he scored 4 times in 2014. In 2018, Messi managed one goal. He had a dream 2022 World Cup campaign, scoring 7 times.