Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, soccer stars for more than two decades, belong to the exclusive club of players who have attended five World Cups, although they are about to lead, together with Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa, a crusade towards an unprecedented frontier: that of six World Cups.
In the founding of this select group of five tournaments, 60 years ago, the Mexican accent played a leading role, thanks to the legendary goalkeeper Antonio ‘Tota’ Carbajal, who guarded El Tri’s goal during a long journey that spanned from Brazil 1950 to England 1966.
The names that kept history alive
It took 32 years for the club to welcome its second member in the form of German midfielder Lothar Matthäus.
The German matched the feat at France 1998, leaving a record of 25 games played that has stood for more than two decades.
With the arrival of the new millennium, the goal of the Italian national team made its contribution to the legend with Gianluigi Buffon.
The Azzurri goalkeeper sealed his fifth World Cup appearance at Brazil 2014, having made his first appearance in 1998.
Backed by the absolute glory of having lifted the cup in 2006.
The 2026 World Cup will be historic
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Mexican spice in the group
The fourth to join was defender Rafael Márquez, who had not missed the Round of 16 with Mexico from 2002 to 2018.
When he said goodbye to the fields as a legend of Aztec soccer.
However, the big wave of massive entries to the group took place at the Qatar 2022 event.
In Arabian territory, Mexican football extended its tradition with the incorporation of Memo Ochoa and midfielder Andrés Guardado to the select list of five tournaments.
On that same Middle Eastern stage, the parallel careers of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo reached the figure of five World Cups.
Both players crowned an era of consistency that seemed the ultimate ceiling for any athlete in the modern era.
However, after the opening whistle of the 2026 World Cup, they themselves will continue to write history (Filed under: Lionel Messi goes for six World Cups),
Three legends defy the passage of time
For the first time in nearly a century of competition, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada tournament is set to see three active players break the five-assist barrier.
Against the passage of time, Messi, Cristiano and Ochoa, who defy all logic with their presence in the call-ups and display the personal discipline that has brought them this way, do not enter the scene to have a testimonial step.
They also want their teams to be protagonists.
The scrolls supporting this trident are overwhelming.
Cristiano Ronaldo will step onto the North American fields with a service record that includes 22 games played, 8 goals scored and 2 assists provided over a demanding total of 1,764 minutes of play (Filed as: Lionel Messi goes for six World Cups),
The records that support a unique achievement
For his part, Lionel Messi arrives as the competition’s record man having completed 26 official matches.
He recorded a total of 13 goals and 8 assists in 2,315 minutes on the field, with the world champion’s star already embroidered on his jersey.
And Guillermo Ochoa is not far behind, having translated his work at the back of the net into four clean sheets.
In addition to having conceded just 12 goals in 990 minutes (Filed as: Lionel Messi goes for six World Cups),
With information from EFE
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