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With two goals against Austria on Monday, Lionel Messi became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.
Perhaps most impressively, he did so at age 38.
The brace allowed Messi to reach five total at the 2026 World Cup in just two games, as he bagged a hat trick against Algeria last week.
With five goals at this year’s tournament, Messi has already produced the best single-World Cup scoring total by a 38-year-old — and he turns 39 on June 24.
In fact, just six players have scored two or more goals at the men’s World Cup at age 35 or older, and Messi has now done so twice. He has also netted 27.9% of goals at the World Cup scored by players 35 or older.
The others to score twice in a World Cup at age 35 or older are Olivier Giroud (four goals for France in 2022), Roger Milla (four for Cameroon in 1990), Nils Liedholm (two for Sweden in 1958), Ricardo Peláez (two for Mexico in 1998), and Miroslav Klose (two for Germany in 2014).
Milla was the previous age-38 record-holder and the only other player to score at that age.
Five players scored one goal at age 37: Gunnar Gren for Sweden in 1958, Cuauhtemoc Blanco for Mexico in 2010, Felipe Baloy for Panama in 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal in 2022, and Marko Arnautovic for Austria in 2026.
Portugal’s Pepe scored one goal at age 39 at the 2022 World Cup, and Milla scored once at age 42 in 1994.
Since the Austria game was his final as a 38-year-old, Messi can now chase the age-39 mark: he’ll need to score twice more this tournament to pass Pepe.
Argentina will face Jordan on June 27 in their third and final group stage game. Messi’s team has also qualified for the knockout rounds, although their exact opponent in the Round of 32 is yet to be determined.
Methodology note: USA TODAY calculated each scorer’s age on the date of each goal using match dates, goal records and player birth dates from the Fjelstul World Cup Database. The analysis covers men’s World Cup goals from 1930-2022 and excludes own goals and penalty shootout kicks. Lionel Messi’s five 2026 goals and Marko Arnautovic’s one were added manually.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How old is Lionel Messi? Old enough to outscore the field, evidently
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Perhaps most impressively, he did so at age 38.
The brace allowed Messi to reach five total at the 2026 World Cup in just two games, as he bagged a hat trick against Algeria last week.
With five goals at this year’s tournament, Messi has already produced the best single-World Cup scoring total by a 38-year-old — and he turns 39 on June 24.
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In fact, just six players have scored two or more goals at the men’s World Cup at age 35 or older, and Messi has now done so twice. He has also netted 27.9% of goals at the World Cup scored by players 35 or older.
The others to score twice in a World Cup at age 35 or older are Olivier Giroud (four goals for France in 2022), Roger Milla (four for Cameroon in 1990), Nils Liedholm (two for Sweden in 1958), Ricardo Peláez (two for Mexico in 1998), and Miroslav Klose (two for Germany in 2014).
Milla was the previous age-38 record-holder and the only other player to score at that age.
Five players scored one goal at age 37: Gunnar Gren for Sweden in 1958, Cuauhtemoc Blanco for Mexico in 2010, Felipe Baloy for Panama in 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal in 2022, and Marko Arnautovic for Austria in 2026.
Portugal’s Pepe scored one goal at age 39 at the 2022 World Cup, and Milla scored once at age 42 in 1994.
Since the Austria game was his final as a 38-year-old, Messi can now chase the age-39 mark: he’ll need to score twice more this tournament to pass Pepe.
Argentina will face Jordan on June 27 in their third and final group stage game. Messi’s team has also qualified for the knockout rounds, although their exact opponent in the Round of 32 is yet to be determined.
Methodology note: USA TODAY calculated each scorer’s age on the date of each goal using match dates, goal records and player birth dates from the Fjelstul World Cup Database. The analysis covers men’s World Cup goals from 1930-2022 and excludes own goals and penalty shootout kicks. Lionel Messi’s five 2026 goals and Marko Arnautovic’s one were added manually.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How old is Lionel Messi? Old enough to outscore the field, evidently
Continue reading...
