Croatia's Ivan Perisic Equals Lionel Messi's Record Of Providing An Assist In 4 FIFA Word Cups

Published 17 June 2026 · sports

Croatia's Ivan Perisic Equals Lionel Messi's Record Of Providing An Assist In 4 FIFA Word Cups Published By, Last Updated: June 18, 2026, 04:59 IST

Croatia's Ivan Perisic Equals Lionel Messi's Record Of Providing An Assist In 4 FIFA Word Cups Published By, Last Updated: June 18, 2026, 04:59 IST Ivan Perisic equalled Lionel Messi's record of providing an assist in four different FIFA World Cup editions after setting up Croatia's second goal against England on June 17. Ivan Perisic equals record of providing an assist in four FIFA World Cups. (Picture Credit: AP) Ivan Perisic entered the record books on Wednesday (June 17) by equalling Lionel Messi’s feat of providing an assist in four different FIFA World Cup editions, the most by any player in records dating back to 1966. The 37-year-old former Inter Milan, FC Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. star set up Petar Musa for Croatia’s second goal in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group L match against England at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. The assist for Musa’s strike was Perisic’s sixth in FIFA World Cup history and meant that he has now registered at least one assist in each of the last four editions of the tournament — 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026.

4 – Ivan Perisic has assisted a goal on four World Cup editions, with only Lionel Messi also providing an assist on as many World Cup tournaments on record (since 1966).Evergreen. pic.twitter.com/nyP48oW3E9 — OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) June 17, 2026 According to Opta, Perisic has become only the second player on record (since 1966) to provide an assist in four separate FIFA World Cup tournaments, joining Messi in the exclusive club. England won 4-2 Harry Kane scored twice in the first half as England eventually saw off Croatia 4-2 to launch their World Cup title assault in Texas on Wednesday. Jude Bellingham, immediately after half-time, and substitute Marcus Rashford with five minutes to go ensured a winning start for Thomas Tuchel’s side after Croatia had fought back to level at 2-2. The prolific Kane twice put England ahead in the first half — one a retaken penalty — only for Martin Baturina and Petar Musa to hit back for 2018 runners-up Croatia.

“I thought the game was two halves really," the skipper Kane told ITV. “I thought first half we were okay. Really disappointed to concede in the way we did, the way we dropped off. “And credit to the manager. The manager gave us a speech at half-time just to say, look, if we lose, we’re losing our way. “And I think you saw that, the way we come out in the second half, we went full gas, and they couldn’t live with it." The meeting was a repeat of the 2018 semi-final, which Croatia won after extra-time, although England have since had the edge against one of the older squads in North America. Zlatko Dalic, the Croatia coach who has masterminded much of their recent success, said England’s prowess at dead-ball situations had caused numerous problems. He called it a “strange and difficult" match. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Harshit Bisht Senior Sub-editor Harshit Bisht is a sports journalist with CNN-News18 since July 1, 2024, and covers cricket with a sharp eye for records, trends, and match analysis.