World Cup
How many records Messi broke in one match
Collected Photo
He stepped onto the pitch to play his last World Cup. Lionel Messi marked the start of the end in unforgettable fashion. His historic hat-trick against Algeria gave Argentina a 3-0 victory. With a winning start to the World Cup, Messi set several records.
1 – Messi became the first footballer to play in six World Cups. He made his World Cup debut in 2006. By taking the field today in his sixth consecutive World Cup, he made history. Mexico goalkeeper Ochoa also came to this World Cup for the sixth time, but he sat on the bench for his team's first match.
5 – After Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi became the second footballer to score in five different World Cups.
5 – Messi scored two goals from outside the box against Algeria. This took his total number of goals from outside the box in World Cups to six – the highest in World Cup history. Messi surpassed Brazil's Rivellino, who had scored 5 goals from outside the box. Messi's previous four goals from outside the box came against Bosnia, Iran, Nigeria, and Mexico in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
5 – Messi is the only player to have provided at least one assist in five different World Cups. Pelé, Grzegorz Lato, Diego Maradona, and David Beckham each had assists in three tournaments. The record for most assists in the knockout stages is jointly held by Pelé and Messi (6 each). Also, the record for most goal contributions (goals + assists) in World Cups is jointly held by these two legends (21 each).
12 – Messi was named Player of the Match today against Algeria. Since the "Player of the Match" award was introduced in the 2002 World Cup, Messi has won it a record 12 times. His four Player of the Match awards in the 2014 Brazil World Cup are the joint-most in a single tournament, shared with Wesley Sneijder from the 2010 South Africa World Cup.
16 – Messi came into this World Cup with 13 goals. He scored a hat-trick in the first match, reaching 16 goals and equaling the record of German striker Miroslav Klose. Klose and Messi are now joint top of the all‑time World Cup goal-scorers list with 16 goals.
17 – Messi secured his 17th World Cup victory, equaling the record of Germany's Klose for most wins.
20 – Messi has now played 20 World Cup matches as captain – the most by any player. He is followed by Mexico's Rafael Márquez (17) and Argentina's Diego Maradona (16).
27 – Messi already held the record for the most World Cup matches played. In this World Cup's opening match, he surpassed his own mark. With 27 matches across six tournaments, Messi stands alone at the top.
30 – Messi is the only footballer to have scored in World Cups as a teenager, in his twenties, and in his thirties—across three decades. Pelé fell just four months short of achieving the same feat. The gap between Messi's first and last World Cup goal is exactly 20 years, which is another record. The second-longest gap in World Cup history belongs to Cristiano Ronaldo – 16 years and 160 days.
38 – At the age of 38 years and 357 days, Messi scored a hat-trick. The Argentine captain became the oldest footballer to achieve this feat in World Cup history. Messi broke Ronaldo's record, who had scored a hat-trick against Spain in the 2018 World Cup at the age of 33 years and 130 days.
200 – This was Messi's 200th international match for Argentina.
2404 – Messi also holds the record for the most minutes played in World Cup history, with a total of 2,404 minutes. In the 2022 Qatar World Cup final, he had already broken Paolo Maldini's record of 2,217 minutes.
