Don t always focus on Messi and Mbappe - in the 2026 World Cup, it is Deschamps who has the real chance to set a historical record.

Today’s topic is about the World Cup finals. The historical records mentioned in the title are naturally closely related to the World Cup finals.

Why list Messi and Mbappe separately? Because they have a common experience - participating in two World Cup finals. Messi has reached the finals of the 2014 and 2022 World Cups and played 120 minutes in both games. Mbappe has played in the finals of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. There are too many elements in the World Cup, and countless records can be broken down. As for today's topic, the master who is currently at the forefront is Cafu, who has participated in three World Cup finals. Of course, you can say that Cafu only appeared as a substitute in the 1994 World Cup finals, which is slightly inferior to Mbappe and Messi who were the absolute main players in the two World Cup finals. But Cafu's three World Cup finals are consecutive, which is really awesome. Moreover, in the 2002 World Cup final, Cafu won the Hercules Cup as captain.

Continuity is too luxurious and there is no need to force it - the reality is that as the only active players who have participated in two World Cup finals and both have the opportunity to achieve a third final trip in the 2026 World Cup, Messi and Mbappe do have the possibility to catch up with Cafu's record. But even if one of them finished, it would only be a tie. Perhaps, the popularity of Messi and Mbappe is so high that the light of others is naturally overshadowed. In fact, don't always focus on the players - in the 2026 World Cup, the one who really has a chance to create historical records is France's head coach, Deschamps. Deschamps led the team to the finals twice in the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 World Cup. Therefore, if Deschamps reaches the finals again in 2026, he will create an unprecedented record. We might as well take a look at which coaches in the history of the World Cup, like Deschamps, have led the team to the World Cup finals twice. The first is Pozzo, the Italian coach in the 1930s, who led the team to win twice. Of course, that era had a special historical background, so I won’t go into details about this. Then there is the famous German coach Schön, who led the team to the 1966 and 1974 World Cup finals. Of course, Germany also has the more famous Beckenbauer, who led the team to participate in the 1986 and 1990 World Cup finals. There is also Argentina's Bilardo, who was Maradona's head coach in the 1986 and 1990 World Cup finals. The one we are most familiar with is Brazilian coach Zagallo. As head coach, Zagallo led the team to participate in the 1970 and 1998 World Cups. However, it is worth noting that Zagallo was also Brazil's coach in the 1994 World Cup, but he was only a member of the coaching staff, not the coach. The coach at the time was Pereira. Zagallo also participated in the 2002 World Cup with the team, but he was only a consultant. Today we are only talking about the head coach, so as a coach, Zagallo has only participated in two World Cup finals. Most of the above-mentioned famous marshals have passed away, and it is impossible for them to take the lead and create a more glorious history. But now, only Deschamps has such an opportunity. As a head coach, he has reached the World Cup finals three times - if Deschamps can do this in the 2026 World Cup, he will be the first coach in World Cup history at this level. In fact, as early as the 2018 World Cup, many people discovered the characteristics of the team led by Deschamps - it seems mediocre, but in fact it hides murderous intentions and can solve problems solely by personal ability. Such traits are terrifying on the stage of a competition. Therefore, the possibility of France reaching the finals again in the 2026 World Cup cannot be ruled out. It's worth mentioning that if France did this, they would be aligned with Brazil in the 1990s and early 2000s. In that era, Brazil changed three head coaches, but now Deschamps has been at the helm of France for more than ten years. Let's wait and see.