Lionel Messi Set to Become the First Player Ever to Start Three FIFA World Cup Finals

The Argentine captain is chasing multiple historic milestones in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including breaking Cafu's record and matching Kylian Mbappé's exclusive achievement. Here's everything you need to know.

Lionel Messi is on the brink of adding another historic chapter to his legendary FIFA World Cup career.

If he is named in Argentina's starting lineup for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final, the Argentine captain will become the first player ever to start in three World Cup finals, setting a record that would surpass Brazilian great Cafu.

The Inter Miami superstar will also have the opportunity to enhance his legacy by chasing another milestone achieved by only a select few: scoring in back-to-back World Cup finals.

Should he find the net again, Messi would join Brazil's Vavá and France's Kylian Mbappe as the only players in history to score in consecutive FIFA World Cup finals, further cementing his place among the game's all-time greats.

MESSI CHASING AN UNPRECEDENTED RECORD

Messi started in Argentina's 2014 FIFA World Cup Final against Germany, where La Albiceleste suffered a 1-0 extra-time defeat, and again in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final, when Argentina defeated France on penalties 4-2 after an unforgettable 3-3 draw.

If he starts another World Cup final, Messi will become the first footballer ever to be in the starting XI for three World Cup championship matches.

He currently shares the distinction with Cafu, who appeared in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. However, the Brazilian defender only started the finals in 1998 and 2002, coming off the bench in the 1994 final rather than being included in the starting lineup.

CAN MESSI SCORE IN ANOTHER WORLD CUP FINAL?

Another major milestone within Messi's reach is scoring in a second consecutive World Cup final.

The Argentine icon netted twice against France in the 2022 final and will now look to score again on football's biggest stage.

If he does, he will join an exclusive club featuring Vavá, who scored in Brazil's victorious finals in 1958 and 1962, and Kylian Mbappe, who found the net in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final before scoring a remarkable hat trick in the 2022 final.

To date, they are the only players in FIFA World Cup history to score in consecutive finals—a feat Messi now has the chance to match.