He is now the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 21 goals, shattering Miros\u0142av Klose’s previous record of 16. (Albeit Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 has done so too, just one behind.) Argentina’s semifinal win against England on Tuesday was Messi’s 33rd outing at the World Cup, also the record, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (27) and Lothar Matth\u00e4us (25). Now, he has the clean sweep: He is the record holder for appearances, goals and assists with 12. But that last number is more remarkable than it appears. <\/p>\n
World Cup players with most assists in history <\/p>\n
Players<\/p>\n
Nation<\/p>\n
World Cup career<\/p>\n
Total assists<\/p>\n
Lionel Messi<\/p>\n
Argentina<\/p>\n
2006-present<\/p>\n
12<\/p>\n
Diego Maradona<\/p>\n
Argentina<\/p>\n
1982-1994<\/p>\n
8<\/p>\n
Pierre Littbarski<\/p>\n
West Germany<\/p>\n
1982-1990<\/p>\n
7<\/p>\n
Grzegorz Lato<\/p>\n
Poland<\/p>\n
1974-1982<\/p>\n
7<\/p>\n
Note: Statistics courtesy of Opta<\/a>; only includes statistics from 1966 onwards. <\/p>\n These records underline Messi’s greatness. He stands above all else when it comes to longevity, goal-scoring and also creating, the greatest of all-time in every respect, apart from maybe taking penalties. There is though something astonishing about his 12 World Cup assists. This is the fact that they have all created goals scored by 11 different Argentine teammates. <\/p>\n Lionel Messi’s 12 World Cup assists <\/p>\n Year<\/p>\n Match<\/p>\n Teammate assisted<\/p>\n 2006<\/p>\n 6-0 win vs. Serbia & Montenegro<\/p>\n Hern\u00e1n Crespo<\/p>\n 2010<\/p>\n 3-1 win vs. Mexico<\/p>\n Carlos T\u00e9vez<\/p>\n 2014<\/p>\n 1-0 win vs. Switzerland<\/p>\n \u00c1ngel Di Mar\u00eda<\/p>\n 2018<\/p>\n 4-3 loss vs. France<\/p>\n Gabriel Mercado<\/p>\n 2018<\/p>\n 4-3 loss vs. France<\/p>\n Sergio Ag\u00fcero<\/p>\n 2022<\/p>\n 2-0 win vs. Mexico<\/p>\n Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez<\/p>\n 2022<\/p>\n 2-2 draw vs. Netherlands <\/p>\n Nahuel Molina<\/p>\n 2022<\/p>\n 3-0 win vs. Croatia<\/p>\n Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez<\/p>\n 2026<\/p>\n 3-2 win vs. Egypt<\/p>\n Cristian Romero<\/p>\n 2026<\/p>\n 3-1 win vs. Switzerland<\/p>\n Alexis Mac Allister<\/p>\n 2026<\/p>\n 2-1 win vs. England<\/p>\n Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez<\/p>\n 2026<\/p>\n 2-1 win vs. England<\/p>\n Lautaro Mart\u00ednez<\/p>\n Messi has recorded at least one assist at all six World Cups he has featured at, 11 of 12 of them to different players. <\/p>\n That is what makes the record so remarkable. Messi has not built his World Cup assist total by repeatedly feeding one familiar strike partner; he has created goals for 11 different teammates across six tournaments and three distinct generations of Argentina teams. The names around him have changed, the plays have evolved and nearly two decades have passed, but Messi has remained the constant source of invention.<\/p>\n On Wednesday in Atlanta, he did something for the very first time though, and that was face England. Across 205 international caps, the great man has come up against 58 different national teams, scoring against 45 of them, but never England. This is a major outlier. Of the 20 teams to play the most World Cup matches, England is the only side he has never met. <\/p>\n After their win Tuesday, Messi will play against Spain in the final<\/a> at MetLife on Sunday.<\/p>\n
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