The goal was Messi’s 20th in World Cup competition, moving him two clear of France’s Kylian Mbappé atop the tournament’s all-time scoring charts, and his seventh of the 2026 finals, putting him one ahead of Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot, an honour that has eluded him throughout a career that has delivered virtually everything else the game has to offer.
The run began in the knockout rounds of Qatar 2022 and has now carried through the group stage and into the knockouts of the 2026 finals in North America. Across those eight games, Messi has found the net twelve times:
The Eight-Game Run
2022 – Round of 16 vs. Australia
2022 – Quarter-final vs. Netherlands
2022 – Semi-final vs. Croatia
2022 – Final vs. France (two goals)
2026 – Group stage vs. Algeria (hat-trick)
2026 – Group stage vs. Austria (two goals)
2026 – Group stage vs. Jordan
2026 – Round of 32 vs. Cape Verde
Until now, only three men had scored in six consecutive World Cup matches, France’s Just Fontaine, Brazil’s Jairzinho, and Messi himself. He broke that mark against Jordan in the group stage, coming off the bench to score a free kick, before extending it further on Friday. No other player has scored in more than six straight World Cup appearances.
What makes the run remarkable is its span. Messi has now scored in a World Cup final, three separate group stages, and rounds of both the 2022 and 2026 tournaments, a stretch of performances bridging two Copa América cycles, a move from Paris Saint-Germain to Inter Miami, and his 39th birthday, which he celebrated just days before the win over Jordan.
Messi has never won the World Cup’s Golden Boot despite standing as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer. He finished one goal behind Mbappé in 2022 and tied for third in 2014. With seven goals through Argentina’s five matches in 2026, he now leads Mbappé by a single strike, with Norway’s Erling Haaland and England’s Harry Kane also in the mix as the knockout rounds intensify. Should scores finish level, FIFA’s tiebreakers favour assists first, then fewest minutes played.