On July 3, the goal against Cape Verde helped Lionel Messi equal a World Cup record that had stood for 64 years.
At the Hard Rock Stadium, the 39-year-old superstar scored the opening goal to help the defending champions take the lead against Cape Verde in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup. This was also Messi’s 7th goal, thereby continuing to lead the top scorer race at this year’s tournament.
Notably, Messi has scored in all of Argentina’s matches since the start of the tournament. He found the net against Jordan, scored a brace against Austria, scored a hat-trick in the victory over Algeria, and continued to maintain his destructive form in the knockout stage.
The goal against Cape Verde helped Messi equal the record set by Brazilian legend Vava at the 1962 World Cup. According to Opta, this was the 5th consecutive World Cup knockout match in which Messi scored, an achievement only 3 previous legends had accomplished, including Leonidas (Brazil), Gyorgy Sarosi (Hungary), and Vava (Brazil).
Not stopping there, the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner also became the first player in World Cup history to score 7 or more goals in 2 different editions of the tournament. Before the 2026 World Cup, Messi had also reached this milestone at Qatar 2022 to guide Argentina to the championship.
If he continues to score in the quarterfinals in the event that Argentina overcomes Cape Verde, Messi will set a new record with 6 consecutive World Cup matches finding the net, surpassing all predecessors in the tournament’s history.
At 39 years old, Messi remains the leader of Argentina on the journey to defend the championship. If the Albiceleste are crowned champions, they will become the 3rd team in history to successfully defend the world gold cup, after Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962.
