The football world has long discussed the great rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, as both stars approach the end of their careers, attention has once again turned to another historic comparison. Lionel Messi or Diego Maradona? Which of Argentina's and world football's two legends had a more magnificent performance in the World Cup?
The "SofaScore" statistical platform compared Lionel Messi's 2026 World Cup metrics with Diego Maradona's 1986 World Cup performance. The resulting findings have sparked a new debate among football fans.
The great pressure on Messi
For many years, in the comparison between Messi and Maradona, the main advantage was given to the latter. The primary reason was Maradona's almost single-handed leadership of Argentina to the World Cup title in 1986. Although Messi has won every possible success at the club level, he was criticized for not winning a major tournament cup with the national team.
This debate ended in 2022. Messi became the leader of the Argentina national team at the World Cup held in Qatar and led his team to the title after a 36-year hiatus. In 2026, the Argentine star came very close to becoming a two-time consecutive world champion. However, the Spanish national team's victory in the final prevented this.
Messi took the lead in goal count
Messi played eight games in the 2026 World Cup, spending a total of 741 minutes on the field. The Argentine star scored eight goals and provided four assists in these matches. Thus, he was directly involved in 12 of his team's goals.
Throughout the tournament, Messi made 35 shots, 18 of which were on target. He completed 27 successful dribbles, created 25 goal opportunities, and was fouled 18 times by opponents. The footballer's average rating on "SofaScore" was 8.79.
With eight goals, Messi surpassed Maradona's 1986 result. He also gained advantages in terms of matches played, minutes on the field, total shots, and shots on target.
Maradona excelled in influence on the game
Diego Maradona participated in seven matches in the 1986 World Cup and spent 630 minutes on the field. The legendary footballer scored five goals and provided five assists. Maradona was directly involved in 71 percent of Argentina's goals in the tournament. For Messi, this figure was 63 percent.
Maradona completed 53 successful dribbles in that World Cup. Messi succeeded in beating opponents 27 times in 2026. The Argentine legend was stopped by fouls 53 times and created 27 goal opportunities. Messi earned 18 fouls and created 25 scoring chances.
Maradona averaged 4.29 key passes per game, 7.57 successful dribbles, and won 17.4 duels. He created eight clear goal chances during the tournament. These figures show that Maradona was not only a goal scorer but also the key player controlling all of his team's attacks.
Maradona won in rating
According to "SofaScore" calculations, Diego Maradona's average rating in the 1986 World Cup was 9.00. Lionel Messi finished the 2026 tournament with an 8.79 rating. Thus, Maradona remains the author of one of the highest-rated individual performances in World Cup history.
Before the final match, Messi had an average rating of 9.01. However, he could not perform as impressively as expected in the final against Spain, which lowered his overall rating. As a result, Messi ranked fourth among the best individual World Cup performances, after Maradona, Johan Cruyff, and Eusébio.
What do the numbers say?
According to statistics, Messi outperformed Maradona in scoring and final effectiveness. He scored more goals, took more shots, and was involved in a total of 12 goals. Maradona, on the other hand, was superior in playmaking, beating opponents, key passes, won duels, and overall impact on the team's performance.
In other words, Messi was a more productive striker in 2026, while Maradona made a more influential leadership impact that changed the entire flow of the game in 1986. Nevertheless, comparing two legends who played in different eras, under different football rules and conditions, only by numbers is difficult. One thing is indisputable: both Messi and Maradona hold a unique and distinguished place at the pinnacle of Argentina's football history./lent.az
