World Cup: Messi Makes History with 10th Career World Cup Assist

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 kick was headed home by Alexis Mac Allister, moving him clear of Diego Maradona as the competition’s all-time leading assist provider.

Messi now has 10 World Cup assists, surpassing Maradona’s previous record of eight. Germany’s Pierre Littbarski and Poland’s Grzegorz Lato are next on the all-time list with seven assists each.

The assist was also the first time the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner had set up a World Cup goal directly from a corner kick. It became the earliest assist of his World Cup career, arriving just nine minutes and 34 seconds into the match.

The 38-year-old’s record spans six World Cup tournaments. He recorded one assist in 2006, one in 2010, one in 2014, two in 2018, three in 2022 and has now added two more at the ongoing 2026 finals.

Remarkably, each of Messi’s 10 World Cup assists has been converted by a different Argentina teammate.

Although he failed to score against Switzerland, ending his World Cup-record streak of scoring in nine consecutive matches across the 2022 and 2026 editions, Messi remained influential throughout the contest.

He 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 mark in three different editions of the tournament, having also achieved it in 2014 and 2022.

Messi also joined France captain Kylian Mbappé as the only players in the last 60 years to record at least 10 goal contributions in multiple FIFA World Cup editions.

Argentina’s victory also saw the defending champions score at least three goals in four consecutive matches, equalling the longest such run in World Cup history.