In the round of 16 match taking place on the morning of July 4 (Vietnam time), Argentina faced many difficulties against Cabo Verde's tight defensive play. When the game was still deadlocked, Messi once again made a difference.
In the 29th minute, from Lisandro Martinez's long pass, the 39-year-old striker broke the offside trap, controlled neatly before finishing dangerously to beat goalkeeper Vozinha, opening the score for Argentina.
This was the only goal in the first half. In the second half, Cabo Verde equalized, making the match more exciting, but the mark that Messi created was enough to help him continue to write his name into the history of the biggest playground in world football.
With this goal, Messi has scored in 8 consecutive World Cup matches, from the 1/8 round of the 2022 World Cup to the 1/16 round of the 2026 World Cup. This series of matches includes encounters with Australia, Netherlands, Croatia, France at the 2022 World Cup and Algeria, Austria, Jordan, Cabo Verde at the 2026 World Cup. In the above 8 matches, the Argentina captain scored a total of 12 goals.
The star of Inter Miami also completed his scoring record in all rounds of the World Cup. Previously, Messi had scored in all three rounds of the group stage, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. The goal against Cabo Verde helped him add to the missing milestone of round of 32.
Not stopping there, Messi also became the first player to reach the milestone of 30 appearances in the World Cup finals.
According to statistics, the Argentina captain also surpassed Kylian Mbappe and Pele to become the player who directly participated in the most goals in the World Cup knockout round matches with 12 times, including 6 goals and 6 assists.
After the round of 32, Messi has 7 goals at the 2026 World Cup, continuing to lead the top scorer race. At the same time, he raised the total number of goals in the World Cup finals to 20, consolidating his position as the player with the most goals in the history of the tournament.
If he continues to maintain his current performance, Messi still has the opportunity to conquer another memorable milestone, which is the record for scoring the most goals in a World Cup. This achievement still belongs to Just Fontaine with 13 goals scored at the 1958 World Cup.
