The Coronation: Messi Rewrites World Cup History at 39.
Written By: Landon Pulmano
Contributor | Sideline Society Media
At 39, Lionel Messi is still doing this. Six goals in the group stage. The Golden Boot lead. And 19 career World Cup goals, more than any man in history. A tournament many wondered whether he would even play in has become his coronation. Messi equaled Miroslav Klose's all time mark of 16 with a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria to open Argentina's title defense in North America. The crowd was already delirious. Then, as if one piece of history wasn't enough, his brace against Austria broke the record outright. In the group finale against Jordan, off the bench for the first time at a World Cup since 2006, he bent home a free kick for number 19. The man cannot stop, even when the game means nothing.
The Algeria hat trick was his first ever at a World Cup. At 38 years and 357 days, he broke Cristiano Ronaldo's record as the oldest player to score a World Cup hat trick, and became the oldest scorer for Argentina at the tournament. The same man who, in 2006, was the youngest. The arc of a career, contained in a single record. Against Austria he missed a penalty early. He squandered a few chances. In vintage Messi, he scored twice anyway. He is now the first man in over half a century to score in six consecutive World Cup matches.
Messi is now the leading scorer in both men's and women's FIFA World Cup history, surpassing Brazilian great Marta and her 17 goals in the Women's World Cup. Every World Cup ever played. Messi leads them all. He is the third oldest man to score in World Cup history, behind Cameroon's Roger Milla and Portugal's Pepe, and he joined Milla as one of the only men to score four or more goals in a single tournament at 38 or older. The numbers read like science fiction.
Here is the detail that says everything. Through Argentina's first two matches, every single one of their goals came from Messi. Not most of them. All of them. One man, personally carrying the defending champions onto the board. He had not even committed to playing in North America until the last moment, a hamstring issue complicating his buildup. It also emerged that his father is recovering from an unspecified health issue, and Messi was tearful after his first goal against Algeria. The weight he carries is not just a football. It never has been. And yet, as it has always been with him, the personal pain somehow transmutes into transcendence on the pitch. Teammate Alexis Mac Allister said it plainly after the Algeria win: "If anyone thought this group was better off without Leo, today it became clear that Leo is the most important of them all."
Kylian Mbappé is chasing hard, level with Klose at 16 career goals and now second on the all time list, with Erling Haaland lurking. The Golden Boot race is alive. But Argentina are through as Group J winners, and the knockouts await, where Messi has historically been at his most dangerous. His form keeps Argentina on course to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back to back titles. Picture how this ends: Messi walks away from his sixth and final World Cup as its greatest scorer, a second champions' medal around his neck. A month ago that was fantasy. Now it just looks like the plan. The last dance was supposed to be 2022.
Messi had other ideas. At 39, the greatest to ever play is still the best player at this World Cup. Some men age. Messi writes new chapters.
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