Lionel Messi at the World Cup – in numbers

Argentina captain Lionel Messi has arguably enjoyed the best FIFA World Cup of his career in Qatar as he seeks a glorious final chapter to his international career.

The 35-year-old will likely be gracing football’s biggest stage for the last time when the Albiceleste meet defending champions France in the final on Sunday.

Here is a look at some of his statistics, provided by Opta Analyst, at the five World Cup tournaments in which he has participated since 2006.

1. Shot involvement (shots and chances created)

2006: 7 (12.1% of team total)

2010: 46 (42.6%)

2014: 45 (48.4%)

2018: 28 (50.9%)

2022: 45 (56.3%)

2. Most all-time appearances

Lionel Messi: 25 games, 2194 minutes

Lothar Matthaus: 25 games, 2045 minutes

Miroslav Klose: 24 games, 1792 minutes

Paolo Maldini: 23 games, 2216 minutes

Cristiano Ronaldo: 22 games, 1765 minutes

3. World Cup knockout stage goals

Before 2022:

8 appearances

756 minutes played

0 goals

23 total shots

8 shots on target

2022 World Cup:

3 appearances

300 minutes played

3 goals

14 total shots

6 shots on target

4. Attacking sequence involvements for Argentina at 2022 World Cup (shots, chances created, buildup to shot)

Lionel Messi 43

Rodrigo De Paul 26

Enzo Fernandez 20

Nahuel Molina 19

Alexis Mac Allister 18

Julian Alvarez 16

Angel Di Maria 16

Nicolas Otamendi 13

Christian Romero 11

Lautaro Martinez 10