Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi (Fabideciria / Shutterstock.com)

Huge Crowds and Messi Magic as Records Tumble at World Cup 2026

World Cup / June 26, 2026

With three countries co-hosting the tournament for the first time and a mammoth 104 games to be played in all, the 2026 World Cup had broken records before a ball had even been kicked. This is the biggest and the longest World Cup of all time; a gruelling six-week epic under the hot sun of the United States and Mexico (and the typically slightly-less scorching climes of Canada).

And with barely a week of football being played, all manner of records have been broken by the sprawling summer showpiece. From Messi’s magic to some rather epic attendances, here’s a rundown of all the new milestones set by World Cup 2026.

The World’s Greatest


At the sprightly age of 38 – he turns 39 before the tournament ends in July, Lionel Messi is still delivering jaw-dropping feats of brilliance. He scored a hat-trick in Argentina’s opening 3-0 win over Algeria, and in doing so broke all manner of records – and set himself up for a shot at even more World Cup supremacy.

Messi has now notched 16 World Cup goals; by the time you read this, he may have reached 17 or more. Before the tournament began, nobody had scored more World Cup goals than the iconic German, Miroslav Klose, who blasted 16. Somewhat surprisingly, that was Messi’s first ever World Cup hat-trick. Less surprisingly, it means he’s broken the record for the oldest player ever to bag a treble at the tournament – beating the milestone set by his old nemesis, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was 33-and-a-bit when he scored three times for Portugal against Spain in 2018.

In addition, Messi has also become the oldest player to notch a brace in a World Cup game, while his hat-trick against Algeria means that he’s now recorded more goal contributions – 16 goals, eight assists at the time of writing – than any other player in the competition’s history.

And the milestones keep on tumbling for a player that must now be regarded as the greatest ever to lace up his boots. Messi became the first man in history to play at six different World Cups… a record matched by Ronaldo just a few days later.

The In Crowd


Despite the eye-watering ticket prices, which have led to global protests, it still seems there’s something of an appetite to attend World Cup games in the United States, Canada and Mexico. According to FIFA, the 2026 World Cup has already broken the tournament record for the highest daily average attendance.

That came on Tuesday June 16, when 281,223 fans turned out to watch the four games played in Los Angeles, New York and Boston – besting the previous record of 277,070 that was set at USA ‘94. Following the first six days of play, a whopping 1.3 million people had attended a World Cup game in person, with the average attendance reaching 65,483.

It’s pretty much a certainty that this 2026 edition will break the record for the highest cumulative attendance at a World Cup – something that FIFA president Gianni Infantino will no doubt shout from the rooftops as a measure of success. Of course, the 2026 World Cup is the first with the expanded 48-team format, with more games played than ever before – naturally, the total attendance will be higher.

But the average crowd? That’s still a useful marker of the appetite for watching World Cup games… despite the prohibitive price point.

Magnificent Mbappé


France’s 3-1 triumph against Senegal was headlined by a brace from Kylian Mbappé. It was a significant moment for the Real Madrid forward in that it was the fifth time that he has scored multiple goals in a World Cup game – a new record.

Mbappé’s brace also helped the Frenchman to another curious milestone: he has now scored more goals in the second half of World Cup games than any other player. Even more curiously, at the time of writing he’s only found the net once in the first half. An outrageous talent and still relatively young at 27, you suspect that more milestones will fall at the hands of France’s attacking talisman.

The Weird and the Wonderful


If you like rummaging through the archives for the strangest World Cup facts, you’ve come to the right place. This 2026 edition has welcomed Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan to their first World Cup. This is the most debutants that have appeared at a single edition of the tournament.

Vozinha Becomes Oldest Player in World Cup

And Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha made history in his side’s remarkable goalless draw with Spain: becoming the oldest player to feature in their country’s debut match at a World Cup. See, we told you these records were niche.

Three Red Cards Between Mexico and South Africa

Fans of a footballing fracas will have been glued to their screens watching the World Cup 2026 opener between Mexico and South Africa, which saw three red cards shown as the players lost their cool in the heat of Mexico City. You won’t be shocked to learn that breaks the record for the most dismissals in an opening game of the tournament – surpassing the two red cards shown to Cameroon in their historic 1-0 win over Argentina on the first night of Italia ’90.

Austria Goes 30 Games without 0-0 Draw

Austria defeated Jordan 3-1 in their 2026 tournament opener, which was a great result for them and their supporters. It also secured them one of the more bizarre World Cup records: they have now gone 30 games in the competition without playing out a 0-0 draw, which is a longer span than any other nation in history.

Fayzullayev Scores ‘Easiest’ Goal Ever

And if you love truly obscure facts, you’ll revel in telling your mates all about the exploits of Uzbekistan’s Abbosbek Fayzullayev. He scored Uzbekistan’s first-ever World Cup goal in their maiden game in the tournament. Not only that, it was nigh-on unmissable – a header pretty much on the goal line that yielded an xG count of a mammoth 0.98 out of a possible 0.99. And that, dear reader, makes Fayzullayev’s header the ‘easiest’ goal ever scored in the history of the World Cup.