Lionel Messi became the first player in history to score 20 World Cup goals as Argentina defeated Cape Verde 3-2 in a dramatic round-of-32 match that produced a cascade of records.
Messi milestones:
20 — First player to reach 20 World Cup goals.
12 — His knockout-stage goal contributions now stand at 12 (6 goals, 6 assists), surpassing Pele and Kylian Mbappe for the most in the past 60 years.
8 — First player to score in 8 consecutive World Cup matches.
7+ — First player to score 7 or more goals in two different World Cups (2022 and 2026). Mbappe has 6 in this tournament.
7 — Needs just 1 more goal to equal Guillermo Stabile’s record of 8 goals in a single World Cup for Argentina (1930), and 2 more to break Ademir’s South American record of 9 (1950).
5 — Fifth consecutive knockout match with a goal, matching Gyorgy Sarosi (1934-38) and Vava (1958-62).
14 — Has scored 14 World Cup goals after turning 35. Roger Milla is second with 5. All other 35+ players combined have scored 25.
30 and 13 — Extended his records as the most-capped World Cup player (30 matches) and most knockout appearances (13).
Lisandro Martinez: Recorded his first international assist on Messi’s opener — a 42.5-meter pass that was the longest assist by an Argentine defender in 60 years. He became the first Argentine defender since 1966 to register both a goal and an assist in a single World Cup match.
Cape Verde’s Vozinha: Made 8 saves (5 from Messi), the most by an African goalkeeper in a single World Cup match since Algeria’s Rais M’Bolhi in 2014. At 40 years and 30 days, he became the fifth player aged 40 or older to appear in a World Cup knockout match in 2026.
Other records: The own goal by Borges in the 111th minute was Argentina’s third-latest World Cup goal ever. This tournament has now seen 53 goals from set pieces — the most since 1966. Argentina’s 12th extra-time win ties Germany’s all-time record.
Coach Lionel Scaloni marked his 100th match in charge, with a record of 73 wins, 18 draws, and 9 defeats, and 4 major trophies.
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