The historic records Lionel Messi will look to break at the 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada will be a special tournament, not only because the Argentina national team will defend its world title, but also because it will possibly be the last one Lionel Messi plays in, the star and key figure of the Albiceleste, who will turn 39 during the tournament. However, the Rosario-born legend, who is still going strong, will have the chance to break several individual records.

First of all, with his presence in North America, Messi will reach six World Cup appearances and become the player with the most participations ever. Although he will have to share that record, because Cristiano Ronaldo (41) will also be there with Portugal and Guillermo Ochoa (40) with Mexico. The three of them will thus total six World Cups, although it is worth noting that the goalkeeper did not play any minutes in the first two editions: Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010.

Behind those three will be the five appearances of illustrious names in world football such as Germany’s Lothar Matthäus, Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon, and Mexico’s Rafael Márquez, Andrés Guardado, and Antonio Carbajal.

On the other hand, Messi will also try to become the top scorer in World Cup history, at least for now… That record belongs to Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who has 16. He is followed by Brazil’s Ronaldo with 15, and another German: Gerd Müller, with 14. Where does Messi stand? Fourth, with 13, level with France’s Just Fontaine. The Argentine scored one in 2006, four in Brazil, one in Russia, and the rest in Qatar. Although Kylian Mbappé is the big threat in this regard because he also has 13 and is only 27 years old.

Messi celebrates his goal during the 2022 World Cup final (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

Thirdly, the former Barcelona star could become the tournament’s all-time top assist provider with the eight assists he has so far. The leader in that statistic is none other than Pelé, who recorded ten at the height of his brilliance. The target is entirely within Lio’s reach.

Lastly, since Messi has two finals in his record — Brazil 2014 and Qatar 2022 — if he reaches another final, he would enter the select group of players who have played the most matches of this kind. The players to match are the Brazilians Pelé (1958, 1962, and 1970), Cafú (1994, 1998, and 2002), and Ronaldo (1994, 1998, and 2002), along with the Germans Matthäus (1982, 1986, and 1990) and Pierre Littbarski (1982, 1986, and 1990). Mbappé is another one with two and the potential to add more.

It is also worth noting that Messi has another record he could extend, and it has to do with minutes played. He holds the record for most World Cup matches played with 26, ahead of Lothar Matthäus (25), Miroslav Klose (24), and Paolo Maldini (23). The tournament’s new format will allow up to eight matches to be played, so he could open up a huge gap. At the same time, he will strengthen his record for minutes on the pitch, which currently stands at 2,300.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.