Harvesting records: The 2026 World Cup writes an exceptional chapter in the history of football

In an exceptional gesture, the confrontation between Tunisia and Japan hosted the 1,000th match in the history of the World Cup, while the ancient “Azteca” stadium entered history as the stadium that hosted the most World Cup matches. The tournament also recorded a historic presence for the Curacao national team, as it is the smallest country in terms of population present in this forum, and its Dutch coach Dick Advocaat became the oldest coach to lead a match in the history of the World Cup at the age of 78 years.

At the illustrious level, the stadiums witnessed a new manifestation of the two legends of modern football; Argentine Lionel Messi succeeded in becoming the all-time leading scorer in the World Cup with 18 goals, making him the most successful and participating player in the history of the tournament.

For his part, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo caught the attention by scoring two goals against Uzbekistan at the age of 41, becoming the oldest player to score in the history of the World Cup, and the only one to score in 6 consecutive editions.

On the other hand, the promising stars imposed their digital presence strongly, as Frenchman Kylian Mbappé continued his brilliance, raising his tally to 16 World Cup goals to become his country’s all-time top scorer in the World Cup, and Englishman Harry Kane equaled Gary Lineker’s number with 10 goals, while Brazilian Vinicius Junior entered the elite list by scoring in all group stage matches, while Norwegian Erling Haaland succeeded in scoring 4 goals in his first World Cup appearance.

The tournament was not without the fingerprints of substitutes. German Deniz Ondaf equaled Cameroonian Roger Milla’s record, which has stood since 1990, as the most substitute contribution in the first two matches, and rising Swiss Johann Manzambi distinguished himself as the youngest substitute player to score and make assists in one match.