MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Lionel Messi returns to World Cup play with Argentina still trying to extend its title defense and with the Golden Boot race tightly packed at the top.
Argentina’s captain, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport, is back on the World Cup pitch when the defending champions face Cape Verde in the round of 32. A win would move Argentina into the round of 16.
Messi enters the match with six goals in this World Cup, level with France Kylian Mbappé for the tournament lead. The Golden Boot is awarded to the competition’s top goal-scorer, a prize Messi has not won.
The chase goes beyond Messi and Mbappé. Norway Erling Haaland and England Harry Kane each have five goals, while France Ousmane Dembele, Spain Mikel Oyarzabal, Brazil Vinicius Junior and Senegal Ismaila Sarr each have four. Sarr is no longer in contention because Senegal has been eliminated.
Norway, England and France have already clinched places in the round of 16. Argentina still has work to do against Cape Verde, making Messi’s return important both for the bracket and for the scoring race.
Messi has scored in each of his last seven World Cup matches going back to 2022, a run no men’s player had previously produced in tournament history. He has 11 goals across those seven matches and 19 World Cup goals in his career, one more than Mbappé.
His closest Golden Boot finish came in 2022, when he scored seven goals and ended one behind Mbappé. He also tied for third in the race in 2014 with four goals.
If the tournament ends with players tied on goals, FIFA uses assists as the first tiebreaker and fewest minutes played as the second. On that count, Mbappé currently holds the advantage over Messi because of his 2-0 lead in assists.