(CNN) – Argentine star Lionel Messi led his country to the 2026 World Cup final, the third time in his history, surpassing his predecessor, the late star Diego Armando Maradona in number of World Cup final appearances. But how does the comparison between the two stars' World Cup numbers look?

Maradona

Diego played 5 matches in the 1982 World Cup and scored two goals against Hungary, then played 7 matches in the 1986 World Cup, scoring 5 goals and providing as many assists.

In the 1990 edition, he played 7 matches and provided two assists without scoring, and in the 1994 edition, he played two matches, scored one goal and provided another assist.

Overall, Maradona played 21 World Cup matches, scoring 8 goals and providing 8 assists.

Messi

As for Leo, he played 3 matches in the 2006 World Cup, scoring a goal and providing an assist, and in the 2010 World Cup, he played 5 matches and provided one assist without scoring.

In the 2014 World Cup, Messi played 7 matches, scoring 4 goals and providing one assist, and in the 2018 World Cup, he played 4 matches, scoring one goal and providing two assists.

In the 2022 edition, Messi played 7 matches, scoring 7 goals and providing 3 assists, and ahead of the final of the 2026 World Cup, he has played 7 matches so far, scoring 8 goals and providing 4 assists.

Overall, Messi played 33 World Cup matches, scoring 21 goals and providing 12 assists.