Lionel Messi once again marked a historic page in the World Cup. The Argentine captain opened the scoring in the 29th minute of the round of 32 match against Cape Verde, at the Miami Stadium, and reached 20 goals in World Cups and seven in the 2026 World Cup.
The goal, assisted by Lisandro Martínez, extended Messi’s lead as the tournament’s all-time top scorer and placed him once again in the center of the statistical records for the 2026 World Cup with seven goals, one ahead of Kylian Mbappé, his pursuer with six goals.
The score also came on a special day for Argentina: Lionel Scaloni directs his 100th game as head of the Albicelestea cycle that began on September 7, 2018 with a 3-0 victory against Guatemala, in Los Angeles.
The data that explains the record
With the goal against Cape Verde, Messi reached three outstanding records in World Cup history.
The first is the most relevant: he reached 20 goals in World Cups and remains the tournament’s all-time top scorer. Before this match, the Argentine had already surpassed Miroslav Klose’s mark and had extended his lead at the top of the table.
The second data corresponds to the 2026 World Cup. Messi reached seven goals in this edition and took advantage in the fight for the Golden Boot of the competition.
The third reinforces his regularity in the competition: Messi became the first footballer to score seven or more goals in two different World Cups, after the seven he scored in Qatar 2022 and the seven he added in 2026.
Goals in all phases
The expanded format of the 2026 World Cup incorporated the round of 32. With his goal against Cape Verde, Messi added that phase to his list of World Cup matches with a goal.
The Argentine had already scored in the group stage, round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and final. Now he also registers a goal in the round of 32, an instance that did not exist in previous editions.
An afternoon with double meaning for Argentina
Messi’s goal came in the same match in which Scaloni reached 100 games as Argentine coach. The data connects this day with Guatemala, because the coach’s cycle began precisely against the Bicolor, in the friendly played at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.
From that debut to this match against Cape Verde, Scaloni built the most successful process in Argentina’s recent history, with a World Cup, two Copa América and a Finalissima.
The match is still in progress, but Messi’s goal had already left a historic record: 20 goals in World Cups, seven in the 2026 World Cup and a new mark in the Argentine captain’s career.