Lionel Messi has become the first player in FIFA World Cup history to register 10 career assists after helping Argentina defeat Switzerland 3-1 after extra time in the quarter-finals of the 2026 tournament.
The Argentina captain reached the landmark in the 10th minute when his corner was headed home by Alexis Mac Allister, taking him clear of Diego Maradona as the tournament’s all-time leading assist provider.
Messi now has 10 World Cup assists, two more than Maradona’s eight, while Germany’s Pierre Littbarski and Poland’s Grzegorz Lato are next on the list with seven each.
The assist also marked another milestone for the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, becoming the first time he has provided a World Cup assist directly from a corner.
It was also the earliest assist of his World Cup career, arriving just nine minutes and 34 seconds into the match.
Messi’s record has been built across six World Cup tournaments.
He provided one assist in 2006, one in 2010, one in 2014, two in 2018, three in 2022 and has added two more at the ongoing 2026 finals.
Remarkably, each of his 10 assists has been converted by a different Argentina teammate.
Despite failing to score against Switzerland, ending his World Cup-record nine-match scoring streak spanning the 2022 and 2026 tournaments, Messi continued to influence Argentina’s attack.
The 38-year-old has now produced 20 passes leading directly to shots at the 2026 World Cup, becoming the first player since records began in 1966 to reach that figure in three different editions of the tournament after recording 24 in 2014 and 21 in 2022.
Messi has also joined France captain Kylian Mbappé as the only players in the last 60 years to register at least 10 goal contributions in multiple editions of the FIFA World Cup.
Argentina’s victory also extended another remarkable team record, with the reigning world champions scoring at least three goals in four consecutive matches at the 2026 World Cup, equalling the longest such streak in the tournament’s history.
