When Lionel Messi takes to the field at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for Argentina’s World Cup final against Spain, he will become only the second player in history to actually play in three World Cup finals, joining Brazil’s legendary right back Cafu in an exclusive club that has stood untouched for over two decades.The distinction matters. Pelé, Matthäus and Ronaldo have all appeared in three World Cup final squads but each of them was an unused substitute in one of those three finals. Pelé was on the bench for Brazil’s 1966 defeat to England. Matthäus was an unused substitute in Germany’s 1986 final loss to Argentina. Ronaldo famously did not start the 1998 final against France, appearing only as a starter after a late and controversial reinstatement to the lineup following a reported seizure, though he was largely ineffective. None of them took the field in all three as active, participating players.Cafu did. The Brazilian right back played every minute of the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cup finals, lifting the trophy in 1994 and 2002, and finishing as a runner-up in 1998. He remains the gold standard of World Cup final appearances.Messi’s three finals tell their own remarkable story. In 2014, he played every minute of Argentina’s heartbreaking extra-time defeat to Germany in Brazil, winning the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player despite losing the final. In 2022, he delivered one of the greatest individual performances in final history, scoring twice, including a stunning volley, before converting the decisive penalty in the shootout against France.Now comes 2026. A third final. Against Spain. At 39 years old.Cafu was 32 when he played his third final in 2002 and lifted the trophy. Messi is 39 and chasing the same ending. Should Argentina win on Sunday, Messi will not just have matched Cafu’s record of playing in three finals. He will have surpassed it in the most meaningful way possible with two World Cup winners’ medals instead of one.
