Argentina's opener against Algeria also marks the start of a back-to-back World Cup push for the reigning champions. For Messi, the tournament carries both team stakes and personal legacy weight as he closes out international play on the sport's biggest stage.
Pelé's World Cup Record
The legendary Brazilian remains the only player ever to win three World Cups. Pelé, now 82, his first at age 17 in 1958. As the youngest player to appear in a World Cup at that time, he scored two goals in Brazil's 5-2 final win over Sweden.
Brazil repeated four years later even though Pelé appeared in just two games because of injury. After England the 1966 World Cup, a tournament England has famously failed to reach a final in since, Brazil did not advance out of the group stage that year. Pelé added a third World Cup in 1970 before retiring from international play the following season.
His World Cup goals-to-matches ratio stands out sharply. Pelé scored six goals as a teenager in 1958 and added four more in 1970. In total, he has 12 World Cup goals in 14 matches. Messi has one more World Cup goal than Pelé, but he has already played in 12 more World Cup matches.
Overall, Pelé scored 77 goals across 92 international caps for Brazil and helped revolutionize soccer as he became a cultural icon. After a near two-decade club career at Santos in Brazil, he joined the New York Cosmos for three seasons at the end of his career. Even though he was not the player he once was, Pelé's move to the now-defunct North American Soccer League paved the way for other stars to come to the United States long before Messi decided to spend the final years of his career in Miami.
The Case for Messi as GOAT
Pelé may have more World Cup trophies, but Messi's broader résumé sits at the center of the modern argument. Messi has the Ballon d'Or, the award for the best men's soccer player, eight times. That is three more than any other player.
Pelé was ineligible to win the award during his career because it was given only to European players at the time. In 2016, France Football redid previous awards under current standards and deemed that Pelé would have seven Ballon d'Ors.
Messi's club teams have their leagues 13 times, including in Spain, France, and the United States. He four Champions League titles while at Barcelona and scored 627 goals across 714 matches with the club in all competitions before moving to PSG in 2021. For his club career, Messi has averaged 1.32 goals and assists per 90 minutes played. Cristiano Ronaldo, the only man who can be considered Messi's modern contemporary has a career average of 1.11 goals and assists per 90 minutes.
Messi also carries a level of top-level longevity Pelé did not reach at the World Cup. Pelé's last World Cup came when he was 29 years old. Tuesday's game against Algeria will make Messi the first player to appear in games in six World Cups. Cristiano Ronaldo will join him in that club soon after, and Mexico's Guillermo Ochoa will as well if he plays at all during the tournament.
Messi's cultural reach is also part of the case. As the most popular athlete in the world, he is being introduced to millions of Americans who are not soccer fans. His likeness appears widely in everyday retail settings, from potato chips and beer to a home improvement store selling a giant inflatable Messi for yards.
Why Messi Can Top Pelé in 2026
Four years ago, Argentina's World Cup run gave Messi the major international trophy that had long been held against him in comparisons with Pelé and other all-time greats. With Argentina opening the 2026 tournament against Algeria on Tuesday, another title would add a second World Cup to that résumé while Messi extends records for appearances and longevity on the global stage.
Pelé's three World Cup wins remain unmatched, but Messi already leads Pelé by one World Cup goal despite playing in a dozen more matches at the tournament. A repeat championship in 2026 would place Messi's World Cup legacy alongside his eight Ballon d'Or wins, 13 league titles across three countries, four Champions League crowns, and the club production numbers that separate him from Ronaldo and nearly every other peer in the modern era.
Argentina's first test comes Tuesday against Algeria. For Messi, the path toward a second World Cup title begins there, with the GOAT debate hanging over every step of the campaign.
