- Messi Breaks 96-year World Cup Record As Argentina Sends Egypt Home
- Argentina captain set a new record with goals in nine consecutive World Cup matches.
- Messi equalled Guillermo Stábile’s record of eight goals in one World Cup.
Lionel Messi continued his historic 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign on Tuesday after scoring in Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over Egypt in the Round of 16, setting another major record in the tournament’s history.
The Argentina captain found the net as the reigning world champions recovered from a two goal deficit to secure a place in the quarter finals.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the goal extended Messi’s scoring streak at the 2026 World Cup to five consecutive matches. Combined with his final four appearances during Argentina’s victorious 2022 campaign, the 39 year old has now scored in nine successive World Cup matches, the longest scoring run ever recorded in the competition.
Messi had equalled the previous record after scoring against Austria but moved into sole possession of the milestone with his strike against Egypt.
The goal also saw Messi equal one of Argentina’s oldest World Cup records. His eighth goal of the 2026 tournament drew him level with legendary forward Guillermo Stábile for the most goals scored by an Argentine player at a single FIFA World Cup.
Stábile established the record during the inaugural World Cup in 1930, and remarkably, both players reached the eight goal mark in just five matches despite the significant differences in tournament formats.
Messi opened his 2026 campaign with a hat trick against Algeria before netting another three goals against Austria. He later added strikes against Jordan, Cape Verde and Egypt to bring his tournament tally to eight goals.
Stábile’s record was built with three goals against Mexico, two against Chile, another brace in the semi final against the United States and one goal in the final against Uruguay.
Messi’s latest strike also added Egypt to the growing list of countries he has scored against at the FIFA World Cup. No player in the tournament’s history has scored against more different national teams than the Argentine captain.
The goal increased Messi’s overall World Cup tally to 21, further strengthening his position as the competition’s all time leading scorer.
His most prolific World Cup performances have come in the latter stages of his international career. After scoring seven goals during Argentina’s successful 2022 campaign, Messi has already surpassed that total with eight goals at the 2026 tournament.
By comparison, the football icon scored only six World Cup goals across his first four tournaments between 2006 and 2018, highlighting a remarkable late career surge that continues to redefine football history.
