Lionel Messi sits one assist away from owning a World Cup record outright, and the fact that the man he’d surpass is Diego Maradona makes this particular milestone feel less like a stat line and more like a passing of the torch.
Messi currently shares the record for the most assists in FIFA World Cup history with Maradona, both sitting on eight, according to Opta data tracked since 1966. One more assist in the 2026 tournament, and Messi stands alone at the top.
The numbers behind the record
Across 26 World Cup appearances spanning five tournaments from 2006 to 2022, Messi has compiled 13 goals and 8 assists. Those 26 caps also make him the most-capped player in World Cup history.
During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the tournament Argentina ultimately won, Messi contributed three of those eight assists. That’s worth pausing on: he delivered nearly 40% of his career World Cup assists in a single tournament, at age 35, while also leading his country to a title they hadn’t held since Maradona himself lifted the trophy in 1986.
