Last night, Inter Miami gambled away a 2-0 lead against Palmeiras, allowing the Brazilians to salvage a 2-2 draw, but Lionel Messi and Co. still progressed from the group stage, while the European and African giants Porto and Al Ahly Cairo were eliminated.Nevertheless, Inter’s success and qualification for the knockout phase is nowhere near as shocking as the fact that Messi never failed to advance from the group stage, progressing each of the 33 times he played it!33 – Lionel Messi’s teams have progressed in all 33 group stages they’ve appeared in over his career (club & country). Advance. pic.twitter.com/7fjHIWLbKd— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 24, 2025 Whether he represented Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter, or Argentina, Messi guarantees the success.He’s reached the UEFA Champions League knockout phase 19 times (17 with the Catalans and twice with the Saints), led Argentina to seven Copa America quarter-finals on seven occasions and FIFA World Cup Round of 16 five times. With Inter Miami, he advanced from the group stage at the North American Leagues Cup and the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup.CWC: It’s done: Messi against PSG in the Round of 16Furthermore, in each of his three participations in youth tournaments – the South American U-20 Championship, FIFA U-20 World Cup, and 2008 Olympic Games in Paris – Messi progressed from group stages with Argentina.Even more fascinating is that Leo’s teams usually conquered the initial part of a competition without a hitch. Looking back, he was the closest to break his incredible run and face elimination at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, when La Albiceleste drew 1-1 against Iceland in their opening duel and lost 3-0 to Croatia in the second round.##NAJAVA_MECA_8991947##Ahead of the final group stage game, they needed a win over Nigeria to secure the Round of 16, but things didn’t go as planned. Messi did break the deadlock 14 minutes into the game, but his opener was annulled by Victor Moses’ spot-kick goal in the 51st minute.Argentina were on the verge of elimination until the 86th minute when Marcos Rojo scored a winner and launched the South American crew to the next stage, where France knocked them out (4-3).Still, Messi’s streak continued and lasts to this day, being just one of numerous achievements and records he made in his historic career.
