There seems to be nothing left to achieve — every conceivable honour already lines his trophy cabinet. Yet Lionel Messi shows no sign of knowing how to stop. Even in the twilight of his career, this Argentine great continues to add new chapters to the pages of football history, one after another. And now, by guiding La Albiceleste to the World Cup final once again, Messi stands on the threshold of yet another unique record.
Argentina face Spain in the title-deciding match at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey tonight. The moment the referee blows the opening whistle, Messi will enter an extraordinarily exclusive club in football history — becoming only the second male footballer ever to play in three World Cup finals. More remarkably still, Messi will be the only footballer in history to have started all three of those finals from the very first minute.
Until now, this incredible feat of appearing in three World Cup finals had been the sole preserve of one man — Brazil’s legendary captain Cafu. The iconic right-back featured in three consecutive finals for the Seleção between 1994 and 2002, lifting the coveted trophy on two of those occasions, in 1994 and 2002. However, Cafu did not start any of those three finals from the opening whistle.
And it is not only Messi who is writing history tonight — the entire Argentine squad is doing so collectively. With an average age of 30 years and 101 days, Argentina’s starting eleven is the second oldest in World Cup final history. Only the legendary Brazilian side that faced Czechoslovakia in the 1962 World Cup final, with an average age of 30 years and 216 days, ranks above them.
