Argentina's victory in numbers

For the first time, the reigning UEFA European champions (Spain) and Copa América champions (Argentina) will meet in a FIFA World Cup final.

Argentina and Spain have faced each other 14 times across all competitions. Both teams have won six matches each, while two ended in draws.

Argentina are now the only team in World Cup history to have won multiple matches with goals scored in second-half stoppage time.

After Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962), Argentina now have the chance to become only the third nation to win back-to-back FIFA World Cups.

Argentina entered the tournament as the No. 1-ranked team in the FIFA rankings, while Spain were No. 2. Since the FIFA rankings were introduced in 1992, this will be the first World Cup match featuring the top two ranked teams.

Argentina have reached the World Cup final for the seventh time. After 1986 and 1990, this is the first time they have reached back-to-back finals. Germany hold the record with eight final appearances, while Argentina and Brazil are joint second with seven each.

Argentina have now scored at least two goals in 13 consecutive World Cup matches. Uruguay hold the second-longest streak with 11.

Messi won possession 12 times against England — his highest tally in any World Cup match since 2014. It is also his highest in a World Cup match without extra time since 2010.

Since 2022, Messi has registered either a goal or an assist in 11 consecutive World Cup matches, the longest such streak since 1966.

Messi now has 10 assists in World Cup knockout matches, six more than any other player over the past 60 years. Pelé and Antoine Griezmann are joint second with four each.

Messi completed nine successful dribbles against England, the highest by any player at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Messi is joint top scorer at this World Cup with eight goals alongside Kylian Mbappé. He is also joint second in the assists chart with four.

Messi has reached the final in eight of the 13 major tournaments (World Cups and Copa América) he has played for Argentina — a rate of 61.5 per cent.

Messi became only the fourth player in the last 60 years to register multiple assists in a World Cup semi-final.

In 33 World Cup appearances, Messi has contributed to 33 goals (21 goals and 12 assists), the highest total in tournament history. Kylian Mbappé is second with 25 goal contributions.

Since 1966, Messi has created more chances at the World Cup than any other player, with 99. Diego Maradona is second with 71.

Messi has created 25 chances at the 2026 World Cup so far. The record for a single World Cup over the last 60 years is 31, jointly held by Johan Cruyff (1974) and António Simões (1966). Among Argentinians, Maradona holds the record with 30 chances created in 1986.

Messi covered 5.2 miles against England, his highest distance in a World Cup match that did not go to extra time during this tournament.

Messi became the oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup semi-final, at 39 years and 21 days.

If Messi plays in Sunday's final, he will become only the second player in history, after Cafu, to appear in three World Cup finals.

Enzo Fernández became the first Argentina player to receive two World Cup assists from Messi. Messi's previous 10 World Cup assists had all been to different teammates.

Messi assisted Lautaro Martínez for the first time in a World Cup. Across all competitions, however, it was his 10th assist for Lautaro — more than for any other Argentina teammate.

Argentina ended a five-match winless run against England in all competitions. It was their first victory over England since the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, excluding penalty shootouts.

From Anthony Gordon's goal in the 55th minute until Lautaro Martínez's goal in the 92nd minute, England had just 12 per cent possession, compared to Argentina's 88 per cent. The only team with lower possession in a comparable spell at the 2026 World Cup was Qatar (11 per cent) in their 6-0 defeat to Canada while playing with nine men.