Lionel Messi may have produced one of the greatest group-stage performances in FIFA World Cup history, but it still wasn't enough to earn him the No.
1 spot in FIFA's official power rankings from the preliminary stage.
He followed it up with a brace against Austria to become the highest goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history across both the men's and women's tournaments.
Those performances earned Messi a rating of 8.34 in FIFA's attacking power rankings—higher than every player except one.
Germany forward Deniz Undav topped the rankings with a score of 8.36, while France star Kylian Mbappe (8.13) finished third, followed by Brazil's Vinicius Junior (7.92).
Lionel Messi may have produced one of the greatest group-stage performances in FIFA World Cup history, but it still wasn't enough to earn him the No. 1 spot in FIFA's official power rankings from the preliminary stage. Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group J match between Jordan and Argentina at Dallas Stadium (Getty Images via AFP)
The Argentina captain, who celebrated his 39th birthday last week, finished second among all attacking players despite a record-breaking run that powered the reigning world champions to a perfect group-stage campaign.
Battling injury concerns before the tournament, Messi announced his arrival in spectacular fashion with a hat-trick against Algeria. He followed it up with a brace against Austria to become the highest goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history across both the men's and women's tournaments.
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He then came off the bench against Jordan in Argentina's final group-stage match and found the net again, becoming the first men's player in history to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches, surpassing France legend Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho.
Those performances earned Messi a rating of 8.34 in FIFA's attacking power rankings—higher than every player except one.
Germany forward Deniz Undav topped the rankings with a score of 8.36, while France star Kylian Mbappe (8.13) finished third, followed by Brazil's Vinicius Junior (7.92).
