Lionel Messi, captain of the Argentine national team, is close to sitting on a special throne in the World Cup final that Brazilian legend Pelé was unable to occupy.

Messi led Argentina to the 2026 World Cup final in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, after creating the two goals in a 2-1 victory over England on Wednesday at Atlanta's stadium in the semi-final.

According to the statistics account 'MisterChip', Messi could become only the second player to appear in the World Cup final for the third time.

Messi had already appeared in the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil, when Argentina lost to Germany 1-0 in extra time, before winning the title in the previous edition after defeating France on penalties.

Only Brazilian right-back Cafu has achieved this, having played in the World Cup finals of 1994, 1998, and 2002, winning twice and losing once.

Although fellow Brazilian Pelé is the most decorated player in World Cup history with three titles, he did not appear in the 1962 final in Chile due to injury.

It is worth noting that the 2026 World Cup final will be held next Sunday between Argentina and Spain at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

#OJOALDATO - By playing in the final against Spain, Messi 🇦🇷 will equal Cafú as the ONLY footballers who have played in THREE World Cup finals:

Cafú 🇧🇷 — 1994, 1998, 2002 Messi 🇦🇷 — 2014, 2022, 2026 pic.twitter.com/2jEY6BYx2s