Argentine forward Lionel Messi in the second round of Group J of the 2026 World Cup against Austria set 4 World Cup records and one anti-record. This is reported by the Guinness Book of Records, reports UNN.
Details
As told in the Guinness Book of Records, Messi in the match against Austria broke the following records:
- most goals in final matches of
World Cup football tournaments in a player's career - 18;
- most World Cup football
matches played by one player - 28;
- most player wins at World Cup
football tournaments - 18;
- most minutes played at World Cup
football tournaments - 2,489.
We are witnesses to history
In addition, Messi set an anti-record in the match against Austria. In the 9th minute, Messi missed a penalty, which became the third for the Argentine at World Cups.
Messi became the top scorer in the history of World Cups22.06.26, 21:56
This miss allowed him to single-handedly lead the list of anti-record holders, surpassing Ghanaian forward Asamoah Gyan, who had two missed penalties. Now Messi has three unsuccessful attempts at World Cups. This statistics does not include penalty shootouts.
Note that last night the French national team confidently defeated Iraq 3:0 in a group stage match of the 2026 World Cup. Kylian Mbappé scored a brace, scoring his 15th and 16th goals at the World Cup in 16 matches.