Goals, assists, trophies - Does World Cup history maker Lionel Messi have any weaknesses as quirky fact revealed?

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Lionel Messi wrote his name into the World Cup history books during Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria in a Group J match at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington on Monday night as his side qualified for the knockout stages.

'It's just a statistic' - Messi plays down matching Klose's World Cup record

Video credit: SNTV

Having equalled Miroslav Klose's 16-goal haul with a hat-trick against Algeria last week, Messi went one better late on in the first half against Austria.

By tucking Facundo Medina's pass past Alexander Schlager, the Argentina captain scored his 17th World Cup goal, surpassing Klose as the competition's all-time goalscorer.

He then added to his tally in the late stages against the European side, wrapping up victory over Austria with his 18th World Cup goal.

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And having claimed the Player of the Match award for another stand-out display, it got us thinking whether actually has a weakness to his game.

Like Thanos and the Infinity Stones, Lionel Messi is inevitable.

As he continues to shine on the world stage, Argentina have as good a chance as any side at winning another World Cup, and in the process become the third nation to successfully defend the crown.

Lionel Messi's goal map at the World Cup

Image credit: Opta

But just how does he compare to the other great goalscorers and assisters in the competition?

The 2026 showpiece is Messi's sixth World Cup having made his debut during the 2006 tournament in Germany.

It was in Europe where he scored his first World Cup goal, doing so as a second-half substitute against Serbia and Montenegro.

Having played the full 90 in the 2-0 win over Austria, Messi has now registered 2,484 minutes* of World Cup action in a sparkling career.

Messi's impact in front of goal

Playing now at his sixth World Cup, Messi averages a goal every 138 minutes at the tournament.

Broken down into per 90, Messi is scoring 0.65 goals per 90 at the tournament. Of those to have registered at least 900 minutes of World Cup action since the 1966 World Cup, that works out as the 16th best.

It is a metric that Kylian Mbappe tops (1.09 goal per 90). The Real Madrid forward became France's all-time top scorer with a brace against Senegal last week, and then netted twice again in a 3-0 in over Iraq to move level with Klose on 16 goals.

Other select names including Gabriel Batistuta (0.91), Pele (0.86), Harry Kane (0.84), Ronaldo (0.83) and Klose (0.8) rank ahead of Messi in terms of World Cup goals per 90.

Conversely, none come close to equalling Messi's total minutes at a World Cup. With 1,793 minutes of World Cup action, Klose is the one who comes closest to matching the Inter Miami man's overall availability across the competition.

It is all well and good piling in goals in a short period of time and being content with the end product. For Messi, he has been performing at an elite stage for far longer than some of the World Cup's best goalscorers in history. The best ability is availability.

What stands out, too, is that Messi brings more to his game than just goals. Admittedly he is yet to provide an assist at the 2026 World Cup, while he only managed three in Qatar and two in Russia.

Not your old-fashioned No. 9

However, Messi is not the old-fashioned No. 9. He is one who drifts into pockets of space and comes alive outside of the opposition box.

With that, 0.29 assists from 2.83 chances created per 90 highlights his incredible ability to bring others into play. Only one other player - Gerd Muller - features on the rankings for most goals and most assists per 90 since the 1966 World Cup.

Combine both, and Messi is averaging a hugely impressive 0.94 goals and assists combined at the World Cup. Again, it is not top, and is trumped by the likes of Muller, Mbappe, Kane and Ronaldo, among others, but again; he is a player who has played far more often than the quartet, and others, at a World Cup.

Factor in that he is averaging 4.17 completed dribbles per 90 - that in itself ranking fifth - and he is a player who brings a bit of everything to the final third. He is not a Jack of all Trades attacker. He is a master of them. Or is he?

World Cup since 1966	Minutes played (min. 900)	Completed dribbles per 90
Jairzinho	1430	5.16
Diego Maradona	1940	4.78
Eden Hazard	1011	4.63
Sandro Mazzola	990	4.36
Lionel Messi	2484	4.17
Pierre Littbarski	1178	4.05
Rivellino	1206	3.66
Mario Alberto Kempes	1428	3.59
Kylian Mbappe	1310	3.54

Well... perfection is impossible. There has to be one weakness, and fact is; Messi's ability from the spot leaves little to the imagination.

Yes, four of his 18 World Cup goals have been from the penalty spot. That said, he could have been looking at Klose in the rearview mirror far sooner with a little more composure from 12 yards.

Messi missed a first-half penalty against Austria on Monday.

In doing so, he became the first player to miss a penalty at three World Cups, excluding shoot-outs. He has both taken (7) and missed (3) the most penalties in World Cup history. Turns out he is human after all.

Even so, there are few who can deny that Messi is one of, if not the greatest to have played in a World Cup. Guide Argentina to a second successive international triumph and there will be few denying that he truly is the greatest of all time.

*All stats courtesy of Opta

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