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Yesterday (June 23), the 'God of Football' Lionel Messi added two more goals to his tally, setting a new record for the most goals in World Cup history with 18.

Having graced the World Cup stage for 20 years, Messi continues to rewrite football history with dazzling performances at the age of 39. Reporter Ha Seong-nyong looks back on his journey.

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Making his World Cup debut in 2006 at the age of 19 with the number 19 jersey, a youthful Messi made his mark on global football fans by scoring his debut goal with the support of his idol, Diego Maradona.

However, he later suffered from the stigma of being a "player who struggles in the World Cup" for some time.

He went scoreless in the 2010 South Africa tournament, and after losing to Germany in the 2014 Brazil final, he bowed his head despite winning the tournament MVP. In 2018, he experienced the pain of being eliminated in the Round of 16.

Messi's true "World Cup prime" began in 2022, when he turned 35.

In his fifth World Cup appearance, he scored 7 goals, finally achieving his dream of winning the title and claiming his second "Golden Ball."

[Lionel Messi (Immediately after winning the 2022 World Cup): I have longed for this moment. My teammates and the people of Argentina feel the same. Now, we are the 'champions'.]

Although it was expected that he would retire at the top, Messi, now 39, has returned to the "stage of dreams" this year and is delivering even more phenomenal performances.

After becoming the oldest player to score a hat-trick in World Cup history in the first match to tie for the most goals, he finally netted his 17th and 18th goals to stand alone as the all-time leading scorer.

Having scored 12 of his 18 goals after the age of 35, Messi has truly turned back the clock, living up to his reputation as the "God of Football," and is now the very definition of "World Cup history."

He holds not only the record for most goals but also the records for most matches played, most minutes played, and most wins. He even holds the record for the most penalty kicks attempted (7) and the most missed (3).

[Zlatan / FOX Commentator & Former Swedish National Team Player: When he missed the penalty, he showed a brief 'human side,' but soon after, he played as if he had transcended 'human limits.' That is Messi. He has already scored 5 goals in 2 matches. I played in two World Cups and didn't score a single goal.]

Messi's wife, his childhood sweetheart whom he married in 2017, watched the historic moment with their three sons and expressed her emotion, saying, "It is an honor to watch you constantly make history."

(Video Editing: Park Ki-deok, Design: Choi Jae-young)