Lionel Messi Approaches Historic World Cup Milestone

By Cameron Tate

Lionel Messi is set to make his 34th appearance in a World Cup match as he leads Argentina in the final on Sunday, raising speculation about whether this will be his last appearance on the sport's grandest stage.

By participating in the 2026 final, Messi will become only the second player, alongside Cafu, to have appeared in three different World Cup finals, having previously played in the 2014 and 2022 finals, according to FIFA.

In this tournament, Messi has scored eight goals and provided four assists, tying with Kylian Mbappé for the Golden Boot, though Messi leads in assists.

Messi has set a new record by becoming the first player to score 20 career World Cup finals goals, a milestone he reached during Argentina's victory over Cape Verde in the round-of-32. He also extended his record of scoring in eight consecutive World Cup matches.

Argentina's head coach, Lionel Scaloni, has remained noncommittal about Messi's future, stating, “What do I know? Ask him… He doesn’t stop surprising us.” Messi has not yet made any official statement regarding his retirement from World Cup play.