Lionel Messi never seems to tire of making history. Having briefly become the leading World Cup goalscorer of all time before being overtaken by France’s Kylian Mbappé, the Argentina star will become the first player in history to captain his country in three separate World Cup finals.

On top of that, Messi can become the only man to captain a team to two World Cup titles.

Twenty players in history have won the World Cup twice, a club that no fewer than 17 members of Argentina’s 26-man roster can join with a victory over Spain in New Jersey on Sunday. That, of course, includes Messi, who nevertheless has a chance to separate himself from his international teammates.

Messi can create a World Cup captaincy record

The Inter Miami playmaker became Argentina’s full-time captain in August 2011, when Alejandro Sabella was appointed head coach. Since then, he has led La Albiceleste to victories in the Copa América in 2021 and 2024, the 2022 Finalissima and the 2022 World Cup.

Should Argentina defeat Spain at MetLife Stadium, Messi will become the first player to captain two World Cup-winning teams.

Five players who have won the World Cup twice did so as captain for one of their two victories.

The World Cup-winning captains Messi could surpass

Giuseppe Meazza was part of the Italy team that won the World Cup in 1934 and captained the team that retained the trophy four years later.

In 1958, Hilderaldo Bellini led Brazil and a 17-year-old Pelé to their first World Cup triumph and was also part of the 1962-winning team, although he relinquished the captaincy.

Mauro Ramos took over as Brazil captain from Bellini in 1962 and had also been involved in the victory four years earlier.

Daniel Passarella was the captain and a key figure in the Argentina team that won the 1978 World Cup on home soil. He had lost his place in the team by the time their 1986 triumph came around but was still a member of the squad.

Finally, Cafu was Brazil’s backup right-back for their victory in 1994 before captaining the South Americans to the most recent of their five World Cup wins in 2002.

In New Jersey on Sunday, Messi can eclipse them all and create a brand new club of which he would be the only member.

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