End of Messi’s historic run
Lionel Messi’s remarkable nine-game World Cup scoring streak has come to an end.
In the quarter-final against Switzerland (3–1), Argentina met their “quota” (three goals—a tally they had achieved in seven of their previous eight matches in the tournament) without him getting on the scoresheet.
Interestingly, the goals Messi scored during this run form a sequence that is symmetrical around its midpoint—1-1-1-2-3-2-1-1-1—featuring a surge in scoring activity right in the middle.
| WORLD | CUPS 2022 & 2026 | MESSI | SCORING | RUN | |
| № | Date | Opponent | Score | Stage | Goals |
| 1 | 03/12/2022 | Australia | 2-1 | R16 | 1 |
| 2 | 09/12/2022 | Netherlands | 2-2 | QF | 1 |
| 3 | 13/12/2022 | Croatia | 3-0 | SF | 1 |
| 4 | 18/12/2022 | France | 3-3 | F | 2 |
| 5 | 16/06/2026 | Algeria | 3-0 | Group | 3 |
| 6 | 22/06/2026 | Austria | 2-0 | Group | 2 |
| 7 | 28/06/2026 | Jordan | 3-1 | Group | 1 |
| 8 | 03/07/2026 | Cabo Verde | 3-2 | R32 | 1 |
| 9 | 07/07/2026 | Egypt | 3-2 | R16 | 1 |