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Lionel Messi is on the verge of adding another landmark to his extraordinary career, preparing to step into his third World Cup final and match Cafu as the only footballers to achieve the feat. The Argentina captain continues to stretch the limits of sporting longevity, with each milestone clearing the path for another. His latest accomplishment arrives twenty‑four years after Cafu set the benchmark with consecutive finals in 1994, 1998, and 2002.
Messi first reached the showpiece in 2014, suffering a narrow defeat to Germany, before returning in 2022 to finally claim the trophy in a dramatic shootout against France. His third appearance also places him ahead of Diego Maradona, who featured in two finals, joining an elite group of fifty‑five players with multiple final outings.
This match will represent the fifty‑fourth final of Messi’s professional career, including forty‑three at club level and eleven for Argentina.
