Lionel Messi 2022 World Cup stats and history: Goals, assists and more

In some ways, Argentina's Lionel Messi 'completed' football when he and his South American teammates lifted the World Cup trophy for the first time on December 18.For many in the sport he was already considered the greatest of all-time but his overall 2022 World Cup performance to help secure Argentina's third title was immense even by his sky-high standards. Here, The Sporting News keet track of all the data that mattered the most during Messi's time at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Lionel Messi 2022 World Cup stats After performing at an incredibly high level for club side PSG so far this season, Messi entered the 2022 World Cup in fine form, and he carried that into the tournament, in some style.Updated after Argentina's final victory vs. France. Stat Total Rank amongst 2022 World Cup players Goals 7 2nd Expected goals (xG) 6.58 1st Assists 3 =1st Expected assists (xA) 1.95 2nd Shots 32 1st Shots on target 18 1st Shot conversion rate 21.9% =57th Chances created 21 2nd Dribbles completed 15 3rd Dribble success rate 45.5% =57th Touches in opposition box 45 2nd Successful passes 296 15th Passes played into the box 49 2nd Total carries 145 7th Progressive carries 79 8th Duels won 44 3rd = means joint in statistic.  How many goals did Messi have at previous World Cups? At the 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi joined a handful of footballers to have played in five different editions of the competition. He's now played 26 times across four World Cups, with his previous best finish before winning in 2022 coming in 2014. That time around, Argentina got all the way to the final, where they were beaten 1-0 after extra time by Germany.Overall, the former Barcelona man netted six goals across those four tournaments, and he added another seven in 2022.