The final of the World Cup in Qatar is one of the most spectacular football matches ever. On the biggest stage in sport, superstars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé put on a fantastic show with their respective ensembles for more than two hours. Six goals came before the end of extra time, with six more coming on penalties. The final at the Lusail Iconic Stadium produced endless stories, but also stats for what seems like an eternity and a whole host of interesting numbers. An overview:
Argentina’s superstar Lionel Messi surpassed a record set by Lothar Matthäus in Qatar and is now the sole World Cup record player. The 35-year-old, whose eternal longing for the title was still fulfilled at his fifth World Cup, made his 26th appearance at a football World Cup and thus more often than anyone before. Former German national player Matthäus had previously held the record for 24 years, collecting 25 World Cup games from 1982 to 1998.
Scoring two goals in the grand final of this controversial tournament also made Messi the first player in the 92-year history of the World Cup to score in every round: two goals in the preliminary round, followed by others in the round of 16, quarters and semis and crowned his unbelievable run to the coveted title with a brace in the final.
With a total of 12 goals and eight assists, Messi is also now the player with the most goals involved in a World Cup (20) since the data was first recorded in 1966. With 12 goals of his own, Messi drew level with Brazil’s football icon Pelé, who also scored a dozen goals in finals. After all – from a German point of view – Messi, who does not want to end his career in the national team immediately, but will not play a World Cup anymore, will not break Miroslav Klose’s goal record. The German striker scored 16 goals in four World Cup appearances.
With his 23rd-minute penalty, Messi also became the first player to concede four penalties at a World Cup. At the same time, Messi is now the second-oldest goalscorer in a World Cup final at 35 years and 177 days, only Sweden’s Nils Liedholm was slightly older when he scored against Brazil in 1958 – namely 35 years and 264 days. Poland’s goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saved a fifth Messi penalty in the group stage – and gave the seven-time world footballer a negative record: Messi is one of only two players in World Cup history to fail twice from the point.
France captain Hugo Lloris is the sole record goalkeeper at a World Cup after making his 20th World Cup appearance in the final against Argentina. The 35-year-old Frenchman is displacing the German national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who had previously held the record together with Lloris. Neuer has a total of 19 appearances at world championships. Lloris captained France in Sunday’s final at the Lusail Stadium, making it his 20th World Cup appearance.
Lloris is playing his fifth World Cup in Qatar as the Équipe Tricolore’s first-choice goalkeeper. The keeper drew level with Neuer in the semi-final against Morocco in his 19th World Cup appearance. The FC Bayern goalkeeper only set the record at this World Cup in the last group game against Costa Rica. The 36-year-old had replaced the 1974 German world champion, Sepp Maier, and Brazil’s Claudio Taffarel, who each made 18 World Cup appearances.
… and is also the first player to score three goals in a World Cup final and still end up empty-handed. Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick in 1966 saw England beat Germany in the final at Wembley to claim their first (and to date only) major title.
A second statistic should also be little consolation for the outstanding French attacker, who crowned himself the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals: With four goals, the 23-year-old is the sole record holder in the “final goals” category and referred the Englishman Geoff Hurst to the Brazilians Pelé and Vava, as well as compatriot Zinedine Zidane shared second place. Alongside Vava, Pelé, Zidane and Paul Breitner, Mbappé is now a member of the exclusive club of those who have scored in two World Cup finals.
The French international Dayot Upamecano continued a remarkable series of the German record champions FC Bayern Munich in the World Cup final against Argentina. The defender was in the starting XI at Lusail, which means that at least one Bayern player has played in all eleven World Cup finals since 1982. Team-mate Kingsley Coman initially sat on the bench but then came into play as the game progressed – and became the tragic hero with a missed penalty. The last time no FC Bayern professional was in the World Cup final was in 1978 – Argentina also won the title back then (by beating the Netherlands in the final). For the first time since 2006, however, no Bayern professional is returning to Säbener Strasse as a world champion.
Speaking of goals, a goal record was set in Qatar. A total of 172 goals were scored – more than ever before. The previous record was 171 goals, scored at the 1998 and 2014 World Cups.
44-year-old Lionel Scaloni became the youngest World Cup coach since 1978 after Argentina’s victory in the final. At that time, his compatriot César Luis Menotti led Argentina to the World Cup triumph at the home tournament at the age of 39. Scaloni was the youngest coach of all participating teams to start at the finals in Qatar. “My father and my mother – I dedicate this to them. They gave me a life that enabled me to be here. They always supported me,” Scaloni said afterwards, tearfully, in an emotional TV interview.