Lionel Messi Creates New FIFA World Cup Record, Becomes First Player To..

Published 15 July 2026 · sports

Lionel Messi Creates New FIFA World Cup Record, Becomes First Player To... Published By, Last Updated: July 16, 2026, 03:02 IST Lionel Messi is the

Lionel Messi Creates New FIFA World Cup Record, Becomes First Player To... Published By, Last Updated: July 16, 2026, 03:02 IST Lionel Messi is the first captain in FIFA World Cup history to lead his team to three finals. Lionel Messi becomes first player to captain a team in three FIFA World Cup finals. (Picture Credit: AFP) Argentina produced a superb comeback once again on Wednesday (Thursday IST) to secure a 2-1 win over England in the second semifinal and book their place in the final of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The South American giants suffered a setback when Anthony Gordon scored the opening goal for the Three Lions in the 55th minute of the match, but Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez scored in the 85th and 90+2nd minutes, respectively, to seal the deal for the defending champions. The win over England set Argentina’s date for the title clash against Spain, and it also helped Lionel Messi enter his name in the history books. The 39-year-old footballer is the first captain to lead his team to three FIFA World Cup finals. Before taking Argentina to the final of the ongoing FIFA World Cup edition, Messi had also led them to the finals of the 2014 and 2022 editions and ended up lifting the trophy in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Lionel Messi as captain in FIFA World Cup EDITION MATCHES WINS DRAWS DEFEATS FINAL POSITION 2014 7 5 1 1 2nd (Losing finalist) 2018 4 1 1 2 16th (Exit in Round of 16) 2022 7 4 2 1 Winners 2026 7* 7* 0 0 Finalist (Result awaited) In the past, multiple captains have led their teams to two FIFA World Cup finals, but Messi is the first and only player to captain his team in three FIFA World Cup finals. Argentina’s entry into the final of the FIFA World Cup 2026 means that they have qualified for back-to-back finals for only the second time in their history. Argentina had earlier reached consecutive FIFA World Cup finals in 1986 and 1990. In the 1986 and 1990 editions, Diego Maradona was the captain of the Argentina team, and Argentina’s win over England helped Messi equal Maradona’s feat of leading the nation to back-to-back FIFA World Cup finals. Players to captain their team to back-to-back FIFA World Cup finals PLAYER COUNTRY FINAL 1 (EDITION) RESULT FINAL 2 (EDITION) RESULT Karl-Heinz Rummenigge West Germany Italy (1982) Loss (1-3) Argentina (1986) Loss (2-3) Diego Maradona Argentina West Germany (1986) Win (3-2) West Germany (1990) Loss (0-1) Dunga Brazil Italy (1994) Win (2-3 in penalties) France (1998) Loss (0-3) Hugo Lloris France Croatia (2018) Win (4-2) Argentina (2022) Loss (2-4 in penalties) Lionel Messi Argentina France (2022) Win (4-2 in penalties) Spain (2026) The other captains to lead their teams to back-to-back FIFA World Cup finals are Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany -1982, 1986), Dunga (Brazil – 1994 and 1998) and Hugo Lloris (France – 2018 and 2022).