FIFA World Cup 2026: Lionel Messi joins Caf as only players to appear in three World Cup finals

Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates with his teammates at the end of the World Cup semi-final match between England and Argentina. (AP Photo) When Lionel Messi takes to the pitch at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium for Argentina’s World Cup final against Spain, he will become only the second player in history to play in three World Cup finals, joining Brazil’s legendary right-back Cafú in an exclusive club untouched for more than two decades.Resolution matters. Pelé, Matthäus and Ronaldo appeared in three final World Cup squads, but each was an unused substitute in one of those three finals. Pelé was on the bench for Brazil’s 1966 defeat to England. Matthäus was an unused substitute in Germany’s 1986 final loss to Argentina. Ronaldo did not make a great start to the 1998 final against France, appearing only as a starter after a late and controversial reinstatement from a reported seizure, although he was largely ineffective. None of them took the field in all three as an active, participating player.Cafe yes. The Brazilian right-back played every minute of the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cup finals, lifting the trophy in 1994 and 2002 and finishing as runner-up in 1998. He remains the gold standard of World Cup final appearances.Messi’s three finals tell their own remarkable story. In 2014, he played every minute of Argentina’s heartbreaking extra-time defeat by Germany in Brazil and won the Ballon d’Or as the tournament’s best player despite losing the final. In 2022, he produced one of the greatest individual performances in finals history, scoring twice, including a stunning volley, before converting the decisive penalty in the shoot-out against France.Now comes 2026. The third final. Against Spain. At 39 years old.Cafu was 32 when he played in his third final in 2002 and lifted the trophy. Messi is 39 and chasing the same end. Should Argentina win on Sunday, Messi would not only equal Cafu’s record of three finals. He topped it in the most meaningful way possible with two World Cup winners medals instead of one.