​Here’s what I learned after watching Lionel Messi walk more than 100 minutes in a match originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Sitting high atop Kansas City stadium, where the press box is located a level above the nosebleed seats, it feels like almost the literal 10,000-foot view of seeing everything unfolding on the field as well as the surrounding atmosphere.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFor Argentina’s quarterfinal victory last Saturday, that included watching and hearing the fans jumping, singing and celebrating. It included seeing Switzerland’s Breel Embolo’s diving incident that sent him off the field with a red card, leaving his team a man down.And it included the opportunity to watch Lionel Messi, every step of the match.It’s no secret that Messi spends a lot of time walking, standing, strolling during games. Heading into the match against Switzerland, The Athletic reported that Messi had spent 63 percent of this year’s World Cup walking.And while that might seem like the result of a 39-year-old man saving his legs for the biggest moments (and certainly there’s some truth to that), this isn’t a new phenomenon. That’s been a part of how Messi has played for a while. In 2019, Tottenham’s Kieran Tripper said, “a lot of the time he just walks and walks — and then, before you know it, it’s a goal.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSo taking advantage of that bird’s-eye view, I decided to watch Messi for 90-plus minutes, which turned into 120-plus minutes after Argentina needed extra time to defeat Switzerland, 3-1. Here’s what I learned.2026 WORLD CUP HQ:Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Buy World Cup ticketsMessi walks. A lot.As noted previously, Messi had spent nearly two-thirds of his time on the field walking in the five games before the Switzerland match.Against Switzerland, using my eyes and a digital stopwatch, he walked or stood approximately 39 minutes, 27 seconds of 46 and a half minutes (removing the three minutes of the hydration break). In the second half, he walked or stood 43:15 of 51:20. In the first half of extra time, it was 13:45 seconds of 16:05. In the second half of extra time, it was 15:45 seconds of 19 minutes.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdd it up and that’s approximately 112 minutes, 12 seconds of 132 minutes, 55 seconds of game time.Or, walking or standing approximately 84.4 percent of the time.For clarity, my definition of walking was just that. So not a slow jog, or shuffling, but walking, along with standing. That lines up with what The Athletic tracked entering the game, with Messi walking or standing a combined 87.4 percent of the time. And while acknowledging my timer during the Switzerland game is a very unscientific way of tracking, the point remains: Messi walks. A lot.According to Opta Data, Messi walked 5.3 kilometers vs. Switzerland. He also walked 5.2 kilometers in