Beyond Messi's Goals And Assists: The Numbers Behind His 2026 World Cup Run

Lionel Messi's 2026 World Cup has been historic, and his 8 goals and 4 assists lone scratch the surface.

Aside from the extremity contributions, Messi has been ascendant successful respective ways— done balls, take-ons, possessions won, and respective different precocious metrics. It's perfectly unthinkable conscionable however versatile the 39-year-old has been done 7 games of the tournament. He's presently -800 to triumph his 3rd Golden Ball award, and +100 to triumph the Golden Boot.

Here's a deeper dive into the numbers down Messi's brilliance this tournament, up of the World Cup last betwixt Argentina and Spain connected July 19.

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• Messi's 8 goals are tied with Kylian Mbappé for the astir of immoderate player.
• His 2 goals from extracurricular the box are tied with Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé (France), Yasin Ayari (Sweden), and Malik Tillman (USA) for the astir of immoderate player.
• His 34 shots are the astir of immoderate player. His 18 shots connected target are the second-most of immoderate subordinate down Mbappé (19).
• Messi has 5.31 xG (expected goals), the second-highest of immoderate subordinate down Mbappé (5.5); xG measures the likelihood that a changeable taken would effect successful a goal.
• His 5.75 xG connected target is the third-highest of immoderate subordinate down Mbappé (7.11) and Jude Bellingham (5.89).

• Messi's 4 assists are tied with Brahim Díaz, Bruno Guimarães and Martin Ødegaard for the second-most of immoderate subordinate (Michael Olise has most, with five).
• He has 49 crosses and 19 crosses completed, some the astir of immoderate player.
• Messi has completed 21 cardinal passes, the astir of immoderate player; a cardinal walk is simply a walk that straight leads to a changeable connected extremity by a teammate.
• Messi's 158 passes successful the attacking 3rd are the second-most of immoderate subordinate down Pedri (175); the attacking 3rd is the country astir the opponents' goal.
• He has 4.12 xA (expected assists), which is the highest of immoderate player; xA measures the likelihood that a walk made volition effect successful an assist.

• Messi has 25 dribbles completed, the astir of immoderate player.
• He has 48 take-ons, which is the second-most of immoderate subordinate down Yamal (52); a take-on is erstwhile a subordinate attempts to bushed an hostile one-on-one by dribbling past them portion keeping the ball.
• Messi has 14 possessions ending with a goal; an idiosyncratic possession is 1 player's continuous power of the ball, from the infinitesimal they summation it until the infinitesimal they merchandise it (by passing, shooting, dribbling, oregon losing it).
• He has 170 possessions ending successful the attacking third, the third-most of immoderate subordinate down Rodri (205) and Olise (172).
• Messi has 76 possessions ending successful a shot, the astir of immoderate player.
• Messi has averaged 63.6 seconds per possession, the second-longest mean of each forwards down Julián Alvarez (min. 400 minutes played).

• 25 chances, the astir of immoderate player; a accidental is defined arsenic immoderate play that leads to a subordinate shooting.
• 8 large chances created, the astir of immoderate player; a large accidental is an enactment that results successful a clear-cut goal-scoring opportunity.
• 15 done balls, tied with Michael Olise for the astir of immoderate player; a done shot is simply a walk made into unfastened abstraction betwixt 2 defenders for an attacker to person the shot down the defenders.
• 43 touches successful the opponents box, the fifth-most of immoderate subordinate down Lamine Yamal (52), Mbappé (52), Mikel Oyarzabal (47), and Vini Júnior (44).

• Messi has created 11 chances from acceptable pieces, which is the astir of immoderate player.
• He has had 8 shots from nonstop escaped kicks, which is the astir of immoderate player.
• Messi has 4 nonstop escaped footwear changeable attempts connected target, which is the astir of immoderate player.
• Messi has taken 34 corners, the second-most of immoderate subordinate down Canada's Stephen Eustáquio (44).

Lionel Messi successful FIFA World Cup semifinal vs. England (Photo by Liu Lu/VCG via Getty Images).

• Messi has been progressive successful 13 sequences ending with a goal, the astir of immoderate player; a series is simply a transition of play by 1 squad that involves a continuous acceptable of possessions and ended by antiaircraft actions, stoppages successful play oregon a shot.
• He has had 121 sequences with 9 oregon much passes, the astir of each forwards; that is besides 35 much than the guardant with the next-most, Lamine Yamal (86).
• He's been progressive successful 256 sequences ending successful the attacking third, the second-most of each players down Rodri (257).
• Messi has scored a extremity each 77.5 minutes, the third-best mean among each players, trailing Erling Haaland (66.4) and Mbappé (76) (min. 5 matches played and f4our goals scored).

• Messi has scored 21 goals, the astir of immoderate antheral oregon pistillate successful World Cup history.
• Messi has 12 assists, the astir connected grounds astatine the World Cup (since 1966).
• Messi has present scored oregon assisted successful 11 consecutive World Cup matches, the longest streak connected grounds (since 1966).
• Against Algeria, helium became the oldest subordinate to people a chapeau trick astatine the World Cup (39 years old).
• Messi has played 33 matches and won 23 matches, some the astir of immoderate subordinate successful World Cup history.
• With his assistance vs. Egypt, helium became the archetypal subordinate ever to register an assistance successful six antithetic World Cups.
• He became 1 of 2 players ever to score 7 goals successful aggregate World Cups, on with Mbappé.
• Has present scored a extremity against 15 antithetic opponents astatine the World Cup, the astir of immoderate subordinate successful World Cup history.
• He is up to 17 non-penalty goals astatine the World Cup, tied with Mbappé for the astir successful tourney history.