Their 2026 World Cup
His sixth World Cup and his most prolific: eight goals, four assists and the player-of-the-match award in seven of the eight games he played. He scored three against Algeria, two against Austria and kept turning up in every knockout round until the final, where Argentina fell one goal short. He left the tournament as the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.
Match by match
L. Messi played 8 matches for Argentina: 7 as a starter and 1 off the bench. He scored 8 goals against Algeria, Austria, Jordan, Cape Verde and Egypt. He was named player of the match 7 times.
| Round | Match | His game |
|---|---|---|
| Group J | vs Algeria 3-0 | Started, off on 80′ · 3 goals · ★ MVP |
| Group J | vs Austria 2-0 | Started, played the full match · 2 goals · ★ MVP |
| Group J | vs Jordan 3-1 | Came on in the 60′ · 1 goal · ★ MVP |
| Round of 32 | vs Cape Verde 3-2 | Started, played the full match · 1 goal · ★ MVP |
| Round of 16 | vs Egypt 3-2 | Started, played the full match · 1 goal · 1 assist · ★ MVP |
| Quarter-finals | vs Switzerland 3-1 | Started, played the full match · 1 assist · ★ MVP |
| Semi-finals | vs England 2-1 | Started, played the full match · 2 assists · ★ MVP |
| Final | vs Spain 0-1 | Started, played the full match |
Who he is
- Born
- 24 June 1987 · aged 39 at the World Cup
- Birthplace
- Rosario
- Club
- Inter Miami CF
- Height
- 1.69 m
- Individual awards
- World Cup Golden Ball · FIFA Ballon d'Or · Ballon d'Or · FIFA World Player of the Year
Data: Wikidata (CC0).
Biography
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both the Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history, Messi has set numerous records for individual accolades won throughout his professional footballing career, including eight Ballons d'Or, six European Golden Shoes, and being named the world's best player by FIFA eight times. In 2025, he was named the All Time Men's World Best Player by the IFFHS. Messi is the most decorated player in the history of professional football, having won 46 team trophies. His records include most goals in a calendar year (91), most goals for a single club (672 for Barcelona), most goals in La Liga (474), most assists in the FIFA World Cup (12), and most assists in international football (65). Messi has scored over 920 senior career goals and provided over 410 assists for club and country, making him the second-highest goalscorer and the highest assist provider in the history of the sport.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · opening summary of the article.
Tournament data from API-Football. See more rankings on the World Cup data hub.
Photo: Bryan Berlin · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)