Beyond Messi’s Goals And Assists: The Numbers Behind His 2026 World Cup Run

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Lionel Messi’s 2026 World Cup has been historic, and his eight goals and four assists only scratch the surface.

Aside from the goal contributions, Messi has been dominant in several ways— through balls, take-ons, possessions won, and several other advanced metrics.It’s absolutely incredible just how versatile the 39-year-old has been through seven games of the tournament.He’s currently -800 to win his third Golden Ball award, and +100 to win the Golden Boot.

Here’s a deeper dive into the numbers behind Messi’s brilliance this tournament, ahead of the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain on July 19.

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Lionel Messi
  • Messi’s8 goalsare tied with Kylian Mbappé for the most of any player.
  • His2 goals from outside the boxare tied with Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé (France), Yasin Ayari (Sweden), and Malik Tillman (USA) for the most of any player.
  • His34 shotsare the most of any player.His18 shots on targetare the second-most of any player behind Mbappé (19).
  • Messi has5.31 xG (expected goals), the second-highest of any player behind Mbappé (5.5);xG measures the likelihood that a shot taken would result in a goal.
  • His5.75 xG on targetis the third-highest of any player behind Mbappé (7.11) and Jude Bellingham (5.89).
Lionel Messi
  • Messi’s4 assistsare tied with Brahim Díaz, Bruno Guimarães and Martin Ødegaard for the second-most of any player (Michael Olise has most, with five).
  • He has49 crosses and 19 crosses completed, both the most of any player.
  • Messi has completed21 key passes, the most of any player;a key pass is a pass that directly leads to a shot on goal by a teammate.
  • Messi’s158 passes in the attacking thirdare the second-most of any player behind Pedri (175);the attacking third is the area around the opponents’ goal.
  • He has4.12 xA (expected assists), which is the highest of any player;xA measures the likelihood that a pass made will result in an assist.
Lionel Messi
  • Messi has25 dribbles completed, the most of any player.
  • He has48 take-ons, which is the second-most of any player behind Yamal (52);a take-on is when a player attempts to beat an opponent one-on-one by dribbling past them while keeping the ball.
  • Messi has14 possessions ending with a goal;an individual possession is one player’s continuous control of the ball, from the moment they gain it until the moment they release it (by passing, shooting, dribbling, or losing it).
  • He has170 possessions ending in the attacking third, the third-most of any player behind Rodri (205) and Olise (172).
  • Messi has76 possessions ending in a shot, the most of any player.
  • Messi has averaged63.6 seconds per possession, the second-longest average of all forwards behind Julián Alvarez (min.400 minutes played).
Lionel Messi
  • 25 chances, the most of any player;a chance is defined as any play that leads to a player shooting.
  • 8 big chances created, the most of any player;a big chance is an action that results in a clear-cut goal-scoring opportunity.
  • 15 through balls, tied with Michael Olise for the most of any player;a through ball is a pass made into open space between two defenders for an attacker to receive the ball behind the defenders.
  • 43 touches in the opponents box, the fifth-most of any player behind Lamine Yamal (52), Mbappé (52), Mikel Oyarzabal (47), and Vini Júnior (44).
Lionel Messi
  • Messi has created11 chances from set pieces, which is the most of any player.
  • He has had8 shots from direct free kicks, which is the most of any player.
  • Messi has4 direct free kick shot attempts on target, which is the most of any player.
  • Messi has taken34 corners,the second-most of any player behind Canada’s Stephen Eustáquio (44).
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi in FIFA World Cup semifinal vs. England (Photo by Liu Lu/VCG via Getty Images).

Lionel Messi in FIFA World Cup semifinal vs.England (Photo by Liu Lu/VCG via Getty Images).

  • Messi has been involved in13 sequences ending with a goal, the most of any player;a sequence is a passage of play by one team that involves a continuous set of possessions and ended by defensive actions, stoppages in play or a shot.
  • He has had121 sequences with nine or more passes, the most of all forwards;that is also 35 more than the forward with the next-most, Lamine Yamal (86).
  • He’s been involved in256 sequences ending in the attacking third, the second-most of all players behind Rodri (257).
  • Messi hasscored a goal every 77.5 minutes, the third-best average among all players, trailing Erling Haaland (66.4) and Mbappé (76) (min.five matches played and f4our goals scored).
 
Lionel MessiArgentina
  • Messi has scored21 goals, the most of any man or woman in World Cup history.
  • Messi has12 assists, the most on record at the World Cup (since 1966).
  • Messi has nowscored or assisted in 11 straight World Cup matches, the longest streak on record (since 1966).
  • Against Algeria, he became theoldest player to score a hat trickat the World Cup (39 years old).
  • Messi hasplayed 33 matches and won 23 matches, both the most of any player in World Cup history.
  • With his assist vs.Egypt, he became the first player ever toregister an assist in six different World Cups.
  • He became one of two players ever toscore seven goals in multiple World Cups, along with Mbappé.
  • Has nowscored a goal against 15 different opponentsat the World Cup, the most of any player in World Cup history.
  • He is up to17 non-penalty goals at the World Cup, tied with Mbappé for the most in tournament history.

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