Three finals, 21 goals and the GOAT argument nobody can win against Lionel Messi anymore

Last Updated on 17 July 2026

Before Sunday’s final against Spain has even kicked off, Lionel Messi will have done something no outfield player in the history of the sport has done.

He will walk onto the MetLife Stadium pitch and take his place in a starting lineup for a third World Cup final: joining Cafu as the only players ever to appear in three, and surpassing him as the only one to have started all three.

Whatever happens over the next 90 minutes, that fact is permanent. The debate, if one ever genuinely existed, is over.

Lionel Messi’s records, the stats and the case that closes itself

Cafu appeared in three World Cup finals between 1994 & 2002: coming on as a sub in the first, starting the other two, winning in 1994, 2002 and losing in 1998. Messi started and lost in 2014, started and won in 2022, and now starts again in 2026, the first player ever to start three.

The comparison between the two is interesting precisely because of how different the circumstances are. Cafu’s three finals came in consecutive tournaments. Messi’s are spread across three different eras of Argentine football: 2014, 2022 and 2026.

That shows durability and excellence across 20 years, not just a purple patch. In 2,934 minutes across 33 World Cup matches between 2006 and 2026, Messi has accumulated 21 goals and 12 assists. He has already broken Miroslav Klose’s all-time goalscoring record.

His current tally of eight and counting at this tournament alone pushed him to 21. Add to that his 10 assists in the knockout stage, which are six more than any other player in at least 60 years. Then, he has a goal/assist in 11 consecutive World Cup games stretching back to ’22.

A hat-trick against Algeria, a brace against Austria, decisive contributions against Cape Verde, Egypt, Switzerland and England. All this at 39 years old. He needs one more goal or assist on Sunday to match Gerd Muller’s record of 13 combined contributions in a single World Cup.

And, he could become the first player to captain his country to two World Cup titles. A win on Sunday would make Argentina the first back-to-back world champions since Brazil in 1958 and 1962: the team that had Pele. This Argentina team has Messi.

Even if Spain win: The argument is already settled

The one caveat people reach for is simple: Messi has lost a World Cup final. He lost in 2014 to Germany, won in 2022 against France, and now faces Spain. If Spain win, some will say the narrative is incomplete. They are wrong, and the numbers explain why.

Only five players have appeared in three World Cup finals: Cafu, Pele, Ronaldo Nazario, Lothar Matthaus and Pierre Littbarski: none of whom matched Messi’s level of direct involvement across all three campaigns.

Messi scored in 2022’s final, won it, and captained his country to glory. No other player in history has won the World Cup as both its top scorer and top assister in the same tournament. He did that in Qatar. He is threatening to do it again in New Jersey.

In fact, in 2022, Messi became the only player in history to win the Golden Ball twice, and now, as it stands, he could extend that record to three. In any case, though, Messi has nothing left to prove, yet he could extend his legacy if things go his and Argentina’s way on Sunday.