As Lionel Messi matched Miroslav Klose’s record for the most goals scored in World Cup history, the Argentine star now stands on the verge of another milestone — becoming the top assist provider in the tournament’s storied history.

Messi reminded the world of his brilliance with a hat-trick, proving yet again that he remains a force to be reckoned with. Just one more assist at this World Cup would place him at the summit of a very exclusive group.

Here is a look at the top 10 assist makers in World Cup history.

England’s crossing expert David Beckham ranks among the best, second only to Harry Kane for creating goals at major tournaments, with six of his assists coming on the World Cup stage.

His first assist arrived during the 1998 World Cup when, at just 23 years old, he set up Michael Owen to give England a 2-1 lead against Argentina. Beckham added two more assists at the 2002 World Cup, both coming in the same match against Denmark.

In 2006, he provided the winning assist in a 1-0 group stage victory over Paraguay and later set up both goals in England’s triumph over Trinidad and Tobago.

Germany’s Pierre Littbarski delivered five of his seven World Cup assists during the 1982 tournament, helping West Germany reach the final. The left winger began with two assists in a 4-1 win over Chile and then created the only goal against Austria.

He continued his fine form with a goal and an assist against Spain in the second group phase and repeated that performance in the semi-final versus France.

For French supporters, Antoine Griezmann is often viewed as the unsung hero behind their modern World Cup success — even ahead of Kylian Mbappe or Paul Pogba. Serving as the creative hub in Didier Deschamps’ system, Griezmann has been instrumental in France’s attacking play.

His first World Cup assists came during the 2018 tournament. After a slow start, he hit his stride in the knockout stages, registering one assist in the quarter-final, another in the semi-final, and two in the final as France lifted the trophy.

In 2022, Griezmann added to his tally with an assist in the group stage against Denmark and two more in the quarter-final clash with England.

Though not as globally known as some of his peers, Poland’s Grzegorz Lato is one of the greatest players in his nation’s history, playing key roles in their two best World Cup finishes — both third-place campaigns.

In 1974, Lato registered two assists during the group stage but failed to add more later in the tournament. He followed with two assists in 1978 and then three more in 1982, during a World Cup format closer to what we recognise today.

Bastian Schweinsteiger’s World Cup record is particularly impressive when compared with his club form. At Bayern Munich, he averaged an assist every 5.03 Bundesliga matches, but for Germany, he managed seven assists across 20 World Cup games — one every 2.86 matches.

Remarkably, none of these came during Germany’s title-winning 2014 campaign. His first two assists were recorded on his World Cup debut against Costa Rica when he played as a left winger. By the end of the group stage, he had three assists to his name.

He added another in the third-place play-off and, after moving into a deeper midfield role by 2010, still managed three assists in the knockout rounds, including one against England in the round of 16.

The legendary Pele, a three-time World Cup champion, only recorded two assists across his first three tournaments but produced an astonishing six during Brazil’s 1970 triumph.

He first assisted a World Cup goal in the 1958 semi-final against France before scoring twice in the final. Although a hamstring injury curtailed his 1962 campaign, he still managed an assist in the opening match. The 1966 tournament yielded no assists, but he made up for it in 1970, assisting in all but one game he played.

Pele’s final masterpiece came in the 1970 final, where he delivered two assists and scored once in Brazil’s emphatic 4-1 victory over Italy.

Diego Maradona’s World Cup record is perfectly balanced — eight goals and eight assists. The Argentine icon did not record any assists in his 1982 debut tournament, but he set up five during Argentina’s victorious 1986 campaign, three of which came in their opening match. In the final, he provided the decisive 84th-minute assist that sealed Argentina’s win.

Maradona added two more assists en route to the 1990 final and, in his final tournament in 1994, set up Claudio Caniggia’s winner in a 2-1 victory over Nigeria.

Uwe Seeler’s World Cup career with West Germany spanned 12 years and four tournaments. In 1958, he registered two assists — one in the group stage against Czechoslovakia and another in the semi-final loss to Sweden. Although he didn’t assist in 1962, he did contribute two goals. In 1966, Seeler created three goals, and in 1970, he matched that total as West Germany claimed third place.

Messi’s relentless attacking output ensures that even as he stands as the joint top scorer in World Cup history, he remains within touching distance of being the leading assist provider as well.

So far, Messi has accumulated eight assists in World Cup tournaments, beginning with one in his debut match against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006. In 2010, he created a goal in the win over Mexico, followed by another in 2014. His numbers surged in 2018, when he provided two assists during Argentina’s round of 16 defeat to France.

In Qatar 2022, Messi notched assists in the group stage, the quarter-final, and the semi-final. Though he did not assist in the final, he scored twice — a trade-off he is unlikely to regret. One more assist would place him level with the all-time leader.

That leader is Brazilian legend Didi, a key figure in the golden Brazil sides of the 1950s and 1960s that won back-to-back World Cups. While Didi also played in 1962, all nine of his World Cup assists came before that tournament.

He began his World Cup journey with three assists and a goal against Mexico in 1954 and added another in Brazil’s quarter-final defeat to Hungary. In 1958, he started strongly again with two assists in the opening game against Australia and another in the quarter-final win over Wales.

Didi then shone in the semi-final against France, scoring once and setting up two more goals to help Brazil reach the final — a performance that defined his place among the World Cup’s greatest playmakers.