Messi's 2022 World Cup: The Greatest Individual Tournament Performance in History
The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be remembered forever as the tournament that completed Lionel Messi's legacy. At 35 years old, in what most believed would be his final World Cup, Messi led Argentina to their third World Cup title in the most dramatic final in the tournament's history. His performance across seven matches was, many argue, the greatest individual tournament performance ever seen in football.
Argentina's Path to Glory
Argentina entered the 2022 World Cup as one of the favorites — but suffered a catastrophic opening match, losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history. With their tournament hopes in jeopardy, Messi and Argentina responded.
Group Stage Results:
- Saudi Arabia 2-1 Argentina (Loss)
- Argentina 2-0 Mexico (Messi goal)
- Argentina 2-0 Poland
- Round of 16: Argentina 2-1 Australia (Messi goal + assist)
- Quarterfinal: Argentina 2-2 Netherlands (2 Messi assists; won on penalties, Messi scored)
- Semifinal: Argentina 3-0 Croatia (Messi penalty + assist for Julián Álvarez)
- Final: Argentina 3-3 France (Messi 2 goals); Argentina won 4-2 on penalties (Messi scored)
- Lionel Messi Biography
- Lionel Messi Career Stats
- FIFA World Cup History
- Messi vs Ronaldo: The GOAT Debate
- Cristiano Ronaldo Biography
- FIFA.com, "2022 World Cup Statistics," accessed 2024.
- The Guardian, "Messi's World Cup: Match by Match Analysis," December 2022.
- ESPN, "The Greatest Final Ever," December 2022.
Knockout Rounds:
The Final: Greatest World Cup Match Ever Played
The 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France is widely considered the greatest match in World Cup history. Argentina led 2-0 with 10 minutes remaining. Kylian Mbappé then scored twice in 97 seconds to level the match at 2-2.
In extra time, Messi scored to make it 3-2. Mbappé then completed his hat-trick with a penalty to make it 3-3 with minutes remaining. Penalties followed. Mbappé scored; so did Messi. Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni missed for France. Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning penalty for Argentina.
The final score: Argentina 3-3 France (4-2 on penalties). Messi had scored twice and assisted once.
Messi's 2022 World Cup Statistics
| Metric | Stats | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | 7 | ||
| Assists | 3 | ||
| Goals + Assists | 10 | ||
| Matches played | 7 | ||
| Golden Ball (best player) | Won | ||
| Golden Boot (top scorer) | Shared | ||
| Matches won | 6 | ||
| Year | Result | Goals | Assists |
| 2006 | Quarterfinal | 1 | 1 |
| 2010 | Quarterfinal | 0 | 1 |
| 2014 | Final (Runner-up) | 4 | 1 |
| 2018 | Round of 16 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | WINNER | 7 | 3 |
| Total | 13 | 8 |