Creative design thanks to Canva
While everyone has been seen over the world cup. I was still in paranoia how this world cup has entertained me the most. As I was browsing Tiktok, Facebook, and Instagram, I realized Messi has broken a lot of records because of this current edition of the World Cup. This is his best world cup performance out of the 5 editions he made as an Argentine. By this World Cup edition alone, you'll be amazed a lot of records have been broken by this man. Will these records make him the GOAT?
Youngest and oldest player to have botj assisted and scored in a single world cup game
Messi's first world cup in 2006 and Messi's fairy tale run in Qatar 2022 were the World Cup editions
Only player to score on all rounds of the World Cup
Messi is the only player who was able to score on all phases of the World Cup: group stage, knockout stage, quarterfinals, semi-finals, and finals
Most number of appearances
Messi totaled 26 appearances in the World cup, making him the highest in the list of most appearances surpassing Lothar Matthäus of Germany
Messi's shining moment in Qatar, winning World Cup golden ball twice (2014, 2022), photo credit: Vanguard via Efosa Taiwo
Most Golden Ball Awards
Messi is the only player who have won two Golden Ball awards in the World Cup history. He won twice in 2014 in Brazil and 2022 in Qatar.
Most Man of the Match (MOTM) Awards
His final appearance against France adds another man of the match awards, totalling 11 MOTM awards, the highest number of awards in the history of the competition
Most Goal Contributions
Messi has a total of 21 goal contributions (13 goals & 8 assists), making him the highest goal contributions made by a player in the world cup.
Most World Cup Games played
Though he is tied with Cristiano Ronaldo for the highest number of World Cups played (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022), Lionel Messi is the only Argentine player to have played the World cup in five editions.
Most World Cup goals for Argentina
Messi's 13 world cup goals in total made him the highest scoring Argentinian in the history of the World Cup. He surpassed previous record holder Gabriel Batistuta who has 10. Batistuta even mentioned he's happy that record was broken by Messi.
Most Games Played as the Captain
Messi has a record of 7 appearances as a captain for the Argentine National Team in the history of the World Cup.
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