Messi has 7 goals in 4 games and his eyes on a fourth title — what on earth is happening at this World Cup?
At 39, Messi shares the Golden Boot race with Mbappé and Haaland while chasing a fourth World Cup with Argentina. This could be his last.
At 39 years old, Lionel Messi is playing as if time does not exist — and perhaps that is because, for him, time really is running out.
Seven goals in four games. The 2026 World Cup Golden Boot shared with Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. And Argentina in the quarter-finals: alive, dangerous, and hungry for a fourth title.
Messi has not officially confirmed that this is his last World Cup — but the maths speaks for him. In 2030, he would be 43. That is not the kind of detail you ignore.
What makes all of this even more remarkable is the company he is keeping. According to UOL Esporte, Haaland, Mbappé and Messi together form one of the most lethal trios ever seen in a single edition of the tournament, ranking among the all-time top scorers in a single World Cup appearance. An entire generation of geniuses, all chasing the same golden trophy.
On France's side, Mbappé keeps hunting. Golmetria's model gives the French a 13.3% chance of lifting the title — compared to 22.3% for Argentina. It is not a staggering gap, but it is real. La Albiceleste arrive at the quarter-finals as clear favourites.
The question that lingers: can Messi carry Argentina all the way to the end? Or will Mbappé — and even Haaland — steal the show at the decisive moment?
The quarter-finals will start to provide answers. And every goal Messi scores could, quite literally, be one of the last of his storied career.