In his last five World Cup appearances, Messi has scored nine goals and provided two assists. He found the net against Australia in the 2022 round of 16, then produced a goal and an assist against the Netherlands in the quarter-final.
The semi-final against Croatia brought another goal and assist, before two goals in the 2022 final against France. Then came Tuesday’s hat-trick against Algeria to open his sixth World Cup campaign.
ALSO: Messi passes Pele, equals Klose with World Cup hat-trick
The numbers around that run are staggering. At 38 years and 357 days old, Messi became the oldest player ever to score a World Cup hat-trick. He is now the joint-top goalscorer in World Cup history with 16 goals, level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose.
To summarise. Lionel Messi is…
◉ The oldest player to score a hat-trick at the World Cup (38y 357d)
◉ Joint-top goalscorer at the World Cup (16)
◉ On his record breaking SIXTH World Cup tournament appearance
There are no words. 👏 pic.twitter.com/0NPJ0PSKdb
— Squawka (@Squawka) June 17, 2026
His broader World Cup record since 1966 stands alone. Messi holds the joint-most goals (16) and joint-most assists (8), the most goal involvements of any player (24), the most goals scored from outside the box (6), the most big chances created (16), the most key passes (77) and the most successful dribbles (112) in tournament history.
🥇 | Indescribable
Lionel Messi at the #FIFAWorldCup since 1966:
• Joint-most goals (16)
• Joint-most assists (8)
• Most goal involvements (24)
• Most goals from outside the box (6)
• Most big chances created (16)
• Most key passes (77)
• Most successful dribbles (112)… pic.twitter.com/rdR9LWce6v— Sofascore Football (@Sofascore) June 17, 2026
There are no words for what Messi continues to produce at an age when most players have long since retired. His sixth World Cup, a feat only matched by Cristiano Ronaldo, may yet deliver more records before it ends.
Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
