This Sunday, Lionel Messi will write another chapter in the history of football by becoming, alongside the Brazilian Cafú, the only player to have played in three World Cup .
The 39-year-old captain of Argentina will face Spain at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, starting at 3:00 PM Cuba time, in what he has described as "surely his last match in a World Cup."
The trajectory of Messi in the World Cup finals began in Brazil 2014, when Argentina lost 1-0 to Germany in extra time, with the goal by Mario Götze in the 113th minute, although the player from Rosario won the Golden Ball of the tournament.
Eight years later, at Qatar 2022, he led the Albiceleste to the title in an epic final against France that was decided by penalties, achieving the championship he had pursued for so long.
Now it reaches its third final after the comeback against England in Atlanta, where Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez secured the qualification with goals in the 85th and 90+2 minutes, after Anthony Gordon had given the English team the lead.
The only historical precedent for this milestone is Cafú, as noted in an analysis by Infobae. The Brazilian defender participated in the final of the United States 1994 after coming on in the first half for the injured Jorginho, was a starter in the defeat against France in 1998, and lifted the Cup as captain in Korea-Japan 2002 after defeating Germany 2-0.
Four other players have been part of three finalist selections throughout history, but none have played in all three finals on the field.
Pelé was part of the champion teams in 1958, 1962, and 1970, although an injury prevented him from playing in the final of Chile 1962. Ronaldo Nazário was in the squads for 1994, 1998, and 2002, but did not play any minutes in the final of the United States 1994. The Germans Pierre Littbarski and Lothar Matthäus reached three consecutive finals between 1982 and 1990 without participating in one of them.
The 2026 World Cup is turning out to be a record-breaking tournament for Messi. He is the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history with 21 goals, surpassing Miroslav Klose's 16 goals, and he leads the Golden Boot race with eight goals and four assists in this tournament.
He is also the first footballer to compete in six World Cups and the player who has participated in the most matches in the history of the tournament, with 27 matches, surpassing Matthäus's 25.
MetLife Stadium holds a special emotional significance for the Argentine captain: it was in that very stadium where, in 2016, after losing the Copa América final to Chile, he announced his retirement from the national team, a decision he later reversed.
After the semifinal against England, Messi dedicated the passage to the final to those who need it most: “We are proud to bring this joy to the people who are struggling, those who are unemployed or unable to make ends meet”.
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