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Argentina captain Lionel Messi broke no fewer than 10 FIFA World Cup records as he led his nation to a famous win at Qatar 2022.
1. Most Appearances - 26
Messi broke the all-time record for most games played at a Men's FIFA World Cup.
The final was Messi's 26th World Cup game, beating the previous record of 25 set by former Germany midfielder Lothar Matthaus.
2. First Ever Two-Time Golden Ball Winner
Messi was presented with the Golden Ball award after the final, having been voted as the official Player of the Tournament.
He had also won the award at the 2014 World Cup. No other player has received the prize twice.
3. Most Player Of The Match Awards - 11
Messi was named as the official Player of the Match in five of Argentina's seven games at Qatar 2022.
He has now won 11 World Cup Player of the Match awards during his career. The previous record was seven set by Cristiano Ronaldo.
4. Most Player Of The Match Awards At One World Cup - 5
The only games at Qatar 2022 to feature Messi and not result in him winning the Player of the Match were Argentina's 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia and their 2-0 victory over Poland.
Mohammed Alowais and Alexis Mac Allister won the awards in those games.
5. Most Goal Contributions - 21
Messi is only joint-fourth on the all-time World Cup list of leading scorers with 13 goals.
But he is now top of the pile in terms of goals + assists with 21.
6. Most Games As Captain
Messi captained Argentina in all seven of their games at Qatar 2022.
He has now worn the armband in a record-breaking 19 World Cup matches.
7. First Player To Register An Assist At Five World Cups
Ronaldo became the first player in World Cup history to score at five different tournaments when he netted for Portugal at Qatar 2022.
Messi has only scored at four World Cups but became the first man ever to record an assist at five tournaments - 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022.
8. First Player To Score In Every Round
Messi scored in the group stage, the round of 16, the quarter-finals, semi-finals and then final.
No player had ever scored in every round of a World Cup during its current format.
9. Most World Cups Played For Argentina
Messi became the first Argentine in World Cup history to perform at five different tournaments.
Diego Maradona and Javier Mascherano both played in four World Cups. Angel Di Maria joined Maradona and Mascherano on four by playing at Qatar 2022.
10. Most World Cup Goals For Argentina
Messi more than doubled his tally of World Cup goals during Qatar 2022 by scoring seven times.
That took his all-time World Cup goal count to 13, breaking the previous record of 10 set by Gabriel Batistuta.
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