The last, the best? How Lionel Messi continues to perform at the World Cup | World Cup 2026

Lionel Messi confirmed he was the greatest footballer of all time after breaking several records as he helped his team reach 32 appearances at the World Cup – the Argentina captain’s sixth appearance.

Messi broke the record for most goals in World Cup history after scoring his side’s first goal in their Group J match against Austria on Monday.

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Then he added another in the closing minutes, scoring 18 goals in six games to top the charts to deafening roars at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Austria coach Ralf Rangnick, who has revived the national team since taking charge in 2022, tried to break the performance of the almost 39-year-old Argentine.

“Lionel Messi may not be the same as before,” Rangnick said.

“He likes to stay on the side, and sometimes he likes to stand in front of the goal, he is offside.

“That doesn’t mean they have one less man, but they have one less man working on the push.

“But that makes him very dangerous, because he can be in position, comfortable in his position, and we have to prepare for that.

“We shouldn’t have too many transition periods, and not allow him to change, and not allow him to be comfortable accepting the ball.”

‘He’s very angry’

This decision was made in front of a crowd of 70,000 people dominated by Argentina fans dressed in blue and white.

Messi scored an early goal to move away from Miroslav Klose for the most World Cup goals.

Messi said afterwards that he was “angry” with himself, and twice came close to scoring afterwards, only to be denied twice by Austrian captain David Alaba.

Then came the big moment, Messi sweeping in on 38 minutes after being set up by Facundo Medina.

Just as Rangnick had warned, Messi burst into space and was all alone to score with his left foot.

It was his 17th World Cup goal, and his 18th came when Messi struck again in the fifth minute of injury time.

Meanwhile, the veteran pressed home as several defenders threw themselves at the ball.

Messi, in his sixth World Cup, was still on the move in the 95th minute.

The goals took the maestro to five in the group, having scored a hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Algeria.

That was it Messi’s first World Cup.

Is the last Messi the best?

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, Messi’s teammate at the 2006 World Cup, has created an environment around Messi to allow his captain to do what he wants.

This means letting others run around him.

Not that Messi is exempt from dirty deeds.

“Today, when the team was fighting without taking, they worked,” said Scaloni.

“You can see his dedication, which speaks volumes for him.”

Famous Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, who wrote Messi’s official biography, said before the World Cup that the player’s style was “very different” from the one that Barcelona started in the early 2000s.

“Messi has reinvented himself five times to transform into the player he is now in Argentina and Inter Miami,” Balague wrote in a BBC column.

“He has changed to be able to dominate and stay ahead of the game that has been chasing him,” he added.

He also noted how Pablo Aimar, Messi’s childhood idol, once said: “The last Messi is the best Messi of all time.”

This type is a player who walks more than he runs, said Balague, but “he sees everything first”.

“Opponents once used this (no-run) against him. Now it sounds like art,” he wrote.