Lionel Messi has become the first player in history to score in seven consecutive FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, surpassing the records previously held by France's Just Fontaine and Brazil's Jairzinho, according to Reuters.

Messi came off the bench to curl a sublime free kick into the net from 25 metres in the 80th minute, sealing a 3-1 victory for Argentina over Jordan in Dallas on Saturday.

A streak stretching back to Qatar 2022

The record-breaking run began at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Messi scored against Australia in a 2-1 round-of-16 win. He followed that with goals against the Netherlands and Croatia, before delivering one of football's great individual performances in the final — scoring twice as Argentina defeated France to lift the trophy.

Fontaine had scored in six straight matches for France at the 1958 World Cup, a feat matched by Jairzinho for Brazil at the 1970 tournament. Messi has now gone one further than both.

Record goals at the 2026 finals

At FIFA World Cup 2026, Messi has been in devastating form. He opened with a hat-trick against Algeria, then added two more against Austria, before his free kick against Jordan took his total to 19 World Cup goals — the most by any player in the history of the tournament.

His tally of 17 — reached with a first-half strike against Austria at Dallas Stadium — had already made him the all-time leading World Cup scorer, moving ahead of Germany's Miroslav Klose. He then added a second against Austria as Argentina won 2-0, and the Jordan goal extended his mark once again.

Cape Verde next for Argentina

Argentina are next scheduled to face debutants Cape Verde in the round of 32 on July 3, giving Messi another opportunity to add to his extraordinary tally.