Lionel Messi is 90 minutes away from becoming a two-time World Cup winner. Argentina face Spain in the 2026 final, and if they get over the line, Messi joins an extraordinarily short list — players who have lifted the trophy more than once.
That list hasn't grown since 2002, when Ronaldo Nazario and Cafu doubled up with Brazil. It's a closed club. And Messi has spent the better part of two decades trying to get into it.
Pelé still sits alone at the top
Three World Cup wins. That's where the bar is, and only one man has ever cleared it: Pelé.
His 1958 title came when he was 17 — still the youngest player to appear in a World Cup Final. He scored twice against Sweden in a 5-2 win and announced himself to the planet in a single afternoon. By 1970, he was cementing a legacy no one has touched since, heading home against Italy in a final Brazil won 4-1. He took home the Golden Ball both times.
The 1962 title carries an asterisk of sorts. Pelé got injured in his second match and missed the rest of the tournament. FIFA's original rules only awarded medals to players who appeared in the final, so he wasn't officially recognised as a 1962 champion until the rules changed in 1978. The retroactive credit is deserved — he was on the squad — but it's worth knowing the context.
His World Cup record: 12 goals, three titles, two Golden Balls. There's your benchmark.
Messi's case, and what 2026 adds to it
Twenty-one World Cup goals across six tournaments. That's the career tally Messi walked into 2026 with — the most of any player in history at that point. He won his first title in 2022, scoring seven goals including two in the final against France, and taking the Golden Ball for a record second time.
At 39, he's kept going. Eight more goals in 2026, including a hat-trick against Algeria in the opener. Age has slowed nothing. If Argentina beat Spain, Messi finishes his World Cup career with two titles and 29 goals. That's a number that reshapes every all-time conversation.
Ronaldo Nazario sits at two titles (1994 and 2002) with 15 goals. He's the only other player in the modern era who managed the double. Messi matching him tonight puts him level with the best winner of his generation — and arguably well past him on every other metric.
Mbappé at one and waiting
Kylian Mbappé exits 2026 still stuck on one title despite 20 World Cup goals — second only to Messi. France went out in the semifinals, and Mbappé's eight-goal tournament counted for nothing in the final standings. At 27, he'll have at least one more shot. The goals record looks increasingly like his to take. The second winners' medal is less certain.
For context on what it takes to win multiple World Cups: only a small group of players have ever done it, and the list below covers every man to lift the trophy twice or more.
- Pelé (Brazil) — 3 titles (1958, 1962, 1970) | 12 goals
- Ronaldo Nazario (Brazil) — 2 titles (1994, 2002) | 15 goals
- Cafu (Brazil) — 2 titles (1994, 2002)
- Lionel Messi (Argentina) — 1 title so far (2022) | 21+ goals, with 2026 final still to play
- Kylian Mbappé (France) — 1 title (2018) | 20 goals
Paolo Maldini, for the record, made 23 World Cup appearances across four tournaments without winning once. Italy won in 2006 — two years after he retired from international football. That's the game.
