Lionel Messi will leave behind an incredible legacy after playing what was very likely his last ever match in the FIFA World Cup. The Argentina captain was not able to lead the national team to glory again, as La Albiceleste lost 1-0 to Spain after extra-time last Sunday.But Messi may well go down as the greatest player in the competition’s history after setting an unfathomable number of records this summer and throughout his career.The only player who can possibly come close to knocking the former Barcelona star off his perch is Kylian Mbappe, who overtook Messi as the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup with his 22nd goal in the third-place play-off.We have compiled all of the World Cup records Messi has broken or matched over the past 20 years, and the length of the list alone is stunning. Though there is also an unwanted one right at the very end…Read – Lionel Messi opens up on ‘immense pain’ of World Cup final defeat (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Lionel Messi list of FIFA World Cup records:Joint-most tournaments: 6 (tied with Cristiano Ronaldo and Guillermo Ochoa)Joint-most appearances in the final: 3 (tied with Cafu)The oldest footballer to play in the final: 39 years of ageThe oldest player to score a hat-trick: 38 years of ageOnly player to win the Golden Ball twice.Only player to score in group stage, round of 32, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.Most appearances: 34Most starts: 31Most appearances as captain: 27Most wins: 23Most goals for Argentina: 21Most goals from outside the box: 7Longest scoring streak: 9 gamesLongest scoring streak in the knockout stage: 6The last #FIFAWorldCup Final was absolute cinema pic.twitter.com/Um1GfqujAG— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 19, 2026Most assists: 12Most assists in the knockout stage: 10Most big chances created: 24Most shots – 139Most shots on target – 64Most expected goals – 19.6xGMost expected assists – 11.1xAMost successful passes in the final third – 639Most passes played into the box – 236Most successful crosses – 40Highest total ball carry distance – 9,136 metresMost dribbles completed – 137The first player to play his club football outside of Europe and score eight goals in one tournament.The first player to miss two penalties in one tournament (excluding shootouts).Read – The best World Cup records broken in the 2026 knockout stageRead More – Rodri, Mbappe and every award winner from FIFA World Cup 2026See Also – Five weird and wonderful World Cup final storiesFollow the Football Faithful on Social Media:Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTokThe post Lionel Messi and his insane list of FIFA World Cup records first appeared on The Football Faithful.