Lionel Messi reached a series of historic milestones during Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 extra time victory over Cape Verde in the FIFA World Cup Round of 32, adding another unforgettable chapter to his legendary career.
The Argentina captain scored the opening goal of the match and played a key role as the defending champions booked their place in the next round. His performance also saw him rewrite the World Cup record books.
Messi’s major records and milestones against Cape Verde:
1. Messi became the first male player to appear in 30 FIFA World Cup matches. He now stands four games ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is second on the all time list.
2. His goal made him the first player in history to score 20 World Cup goals.
3. Messi has now scored in all four of Argentina’s matches at the 2026 World Cup. He became only the fourth player to achieve that feat after Rivaldo and Ronaldo in 2002 and James Rodriguez in 2014.
4. He became the first male player representing a club outside Europe to score seven or more goals at a World Cup since Jairzinho scored seven for Brazil in 1970 while playing for Botafogo.
5. Messi has now scored in five straight World Cup knockout matches. It is the longest such run by any male player since Opta began collecting this data in 1966.
6. The Argentina captain has scored seven goals at the 2026 World Cup after also scoring seven in the 2022 tournament. He is the first male player to score at least seven goals in two different World Cups.
7. Messi now has 12 goal involvements in World Cup knockout matches, moving past Pele and Kylian Mbappe, who both had 11. He now holds the all time record in the knockout stage.
8. He has also scored in eight consecutive World Cup matches, finding the net 12 times during that run. No player in the history of the competition has produced a longer scoring streak.
Messi’s latest display strengthened his place among the greatest players in football history as Argentina continued their bid to defend the World Cup title.
