Messi was the first to play 30 matches at the World Cup.

Argentine striker Lionel Messi has become the first footballer in history to play in 30 World Cup matches. He achieved this achievement on July 3 during a match against the Cape Verdean national team.

Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo holds the second place in the number of games in the history of the tournament.

Messi is 39 years old and has represented Inter Miami, a North American Major League Soccer (MLS) club, since 2023. Earlier in Europe, the Argentine played for the French "Paris Saint-Germain" and the Spanish "Barcelona". As a member of the Catalan club, the striker won the Champions League 4 times, and also won the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup three times.

The forward is an eight-time winner of the Golden Ball, which is considered an absolute world record. As a member of the national team, Messi won the World Cup in 2022, won the America's Cup twice in 2021 and 2024, and became Olympic champion in 2008 and silver medalist at the World Championship in 2014.

Departure time: the World Cup play-off stage has begun

Argentina will play with a lucky newcomer, and Cristiano Ronaldo will face a former teammate.

On July 3, the Egyptian national team defeated the Australian team in the match of the 1/16 finals of the FIFA World Cup. The match took place in Dallas and ended in a penalty shootout with a score of 4:2.