Sure of every step, he walks like a king. That is simply the way it is with Argentine Lionel Messi. Never before in the history of the World Cup has a player left a pitch — at an age like that of the Argentine "Flea" — with an impact this staggering in its scale. Messi has proved across all five of Argentina's matches that even at 39 he remains capable of dismantling opposing defences on the world's greatest footballing stage, crowning himself a king — not literally by running, but by strolling at a leisurely pace.
In a sport whose physical demands grow more intense by the day, how does Messi do it? The answer becomes clear when you take your eyes off the ball during Argentina's matches and focus your attention entirely on the little magician in the No. 10 shirt. You will quickly notice that Messi is either standing still or walking for the vast majority of his time on the pitch.
Messi was already the best dribbler, passer, and shooter in the world, but today he has also become the most effective "walker" in football. Perhaps the most remarkable superpower Messi possesses in 2026 is his ability to conserve his energy and choose the perfect moments to attack. We are watching a footballer who performs the game in flashes and short, intense bursts, while his teammates sacrifice their bodies to preserve whatever energy he has left.
FIFA data shows that Messi covered a total distance of 35,868 metres across his five World Cup matches so far. Of that total, he spent 22,958 metres — 64 per cent — in "Zone 1" intensity, which corresponds to speeds between 0 and 7 kilometres per hour.
In Argentina's dramatic round-of-32 match against Cape Verde, The Telegraph Sport conducted a striking experiment: during a 15-minute spell in the second half, a timer was run every time Messi actually began running. The total time he spent running during that period was just 51 seconds, equivalent to roughly five minutes of running across a full 90-minute match. While this measurement may not be perfectly scientific — different moments and opponents demand varying levels of effort — these figures help illustrate just how slowly Messi moves in this tournament.
In the group stage, Messi ranked first among all 618 outfield players in the tournament for goals scored, while finishing last for distance covered per 90 minutes. He is a player of sharp intelligence, playing within a team that marshals all its efforts in service of him, to the point where he effectively scores the most goals while expending the least possible effort.
In another comparison, after five World Cup matches Messi has made a total of 298 high-speed runs, while other prominent forwards in the tournament registered far higher figures before reaching the quarter-finals: Harry Kane made 600, Vinicius Júnior 514, Ousmane Dembélé 477, Mikel Oyarzabal 461, and Kylian Mbappé 336. Erling Haaland was the only one who came close to Messi's figure, recording 314 high-speed runs — though he did not play a single minute in Norway's third match.
There were certainly moments when Messi was forced to raise his tempo, but with this Argentine legend everything is calculated. In the final 20 minutes of Argentina's controversial win over Egypt in the round of 16, he burst forward as if possessed by some hidden force. After his side fell 2-0 behind, he moved to the right flank and played for a while as he had done in his teenage years, receiving the ball out wide and dribbling past opponents time and again. From the 76th minute onwards, Messi was the player who touched the ball, shot, dribbled, and created chances most in the match. He transformed from stillness to flame in 14 minutes, and the scoreline shifted from defeat to victory — regardless of the refereeing accusations. Messi was the spark that ignited the match and turned the loss into a win.
By the end of that match, having led Argentina to a stunning historic comeback, Messi was so emotionally and physically drained that he broke into hysterical tears. Egypt made him cry, and forced him to activate "turbo" mode — he had prepared himself beforehand to conserve his energy in that match, saving it for the semi-final and the final, but he was compelled in the space of a quarter of an hour to give everything he had. There was no doubt his body was burning with exhaustion. In the first four matches of the tournament, Messi attempted 15 dribbles, while in the match against Egypt alone he attempted 9.
Against Switzerland he did the same thing, and again against England in the semi-final, once more turning Argentina's deficit into a victory: a stroll around the pitch, then activation of explosive mode in the final minutes, precisely when the batteries of the opposing teams were nearly depleted — that is when he springs to life and transforms the entire Argentine team into a blaze of energy.
For Messi's pacing strategy to succeed, the team must possess two essential qualities. The first is Messi's exceptional ability to read the flow of play and identify the spaces where he can shine. The second requirement is the willingness of the other nine outfield players to compensate for Messi's absence from running during the match by raising their work rates and fighting spirit, minimising losses while waiting for the Argentine magician's batteries to ignite.
Messi's teammates are well aware that they must shoulder doubled defensive responsibilities, defending as ten men while he takes a rest between attacks.
Rodrigo De Paul, tireless and relentless, is Messi's primary personal minder. From his position on the right side of Argentina's midfield, De Paul produces an enormous physical output behind his captain. Compared to Messi's 64 per cent of match time spent in Zone 1, De Paul spent only 44 per cent of the tournament in that slow tempo.
Messi covered 35,868 metres in 468 minutes of play, while De Paul covered a comparable 34,679 metres — but in only 347 minutes. The two holding midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernández each covered around 50,000 metres. De Paul has long been jokingly referred to as Messi's "bodyguard" on the pitch, particularly after playing a similar role at the 2022 World Cup. He is typically the first to arrive to defend Messi whenever a foul is committed against him, and the pair share a close bond off the pitch as well — last summer De Paul joined Inter Miami to play alongside Messi.
All across the pitch, Argentina's players run, sweat, and drain themselves to exhaustion for Messi. It is an entire squad assembled in service of one man.
So far, Messi has repaid that faith and effort with his footballing brilliance, scoring 8 goals and providing 1 assist in five matches. Whether he is capable of leading them to glory or not is another matter, but one thing seems clear: walking in football has never been this enjoyable to watch.