Lionel Messi becomes leading goal scorer in FIFA WC history
What's the story
Argentina talisman Lionel Messi has added yet another feather to his already illustrious hat. The 38-year-old striker has gone past Germany's Miroslav Klose to become the footballer with the most goals in FIFA World Cup history. Messi reached the landmark with his first strike in the Group J clash against Austria at the Dallas Stadium. He went on to record a brace as Argentina won the fixture 2-0. Here are further details.
Performance
Messi takes Argentina to victory!
Messi's landmark goal against Austria came in the 39th minute of the game. This was after he missed a penalty that briefly denied him the record. The first came just before half-time when he capitalized on a cutback from Facundo Medina and slotted it home with his trademark left foot. Messi's second goal came in the dying moments of the match, sealing a 2-0 victory for Argentina over Austria. The win all but guarantees Argentina's place in the knockout stage of the tournament.
Stats
18 goals in the competition
With a sensational hat-trick against Algeria in Argentina's 2026 edition opener, Messi equaled Klose's record of 16 goals at the World Cup. Playing his 28th game in the competition, the former has now raced to 18 goals. Brazil's Ronaldo is now third in terms of World Cup goals, having made 15 strikes. With 14 goals, France's Kylian Mbappé trails Messi among active players.
Tally
Six World Cup appearances for Messi
Messi is appearing in his 6th World Cup, having featured in the 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 editions in the past. With 28 appearances, Messi is the most capped player in the tournament's history. Besides his 17 goals, he also owns 8 WC assists - the joint-most alongside Diego Maradona. He won the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball in 2014, 2022 and FIFA World Cup Silver Boot in 2022.
Information
Breaking down Messi's World Cup goals tournament wise
Messi scored a goal in his World Cup tournament debut in 2006. After firing blanks in 2010, he scored 4 times in 2014. In 2018, Messi managed one goal. He had a dream 2022 World Cup campaign, scoring 7 times. And now, he already has five goals at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Career
His numbers for Argentina
Standing in his 201st game for Argentina, Messi is among the three players to feature in 200-plus games for a nation. He is only behind Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (229) and Kuwait's Bader Al-Mutawa (202). Messi has now raced to 122 goals for Argentina across all competitions. He owns 50-plus goals (53) in FIFA World Cup qualifying games and the main tournament combined. Messi has recorded 11 hat-tricks for Argentina.
Feats
More milestones for Messi
As per Opta, Messi became the third player to score in six successive FIFA World Cup appearances after Just Fontaine in 1958 and Jairzinho in 1970. Messi is now the player with the most penalty attempts (7) as well as missed penalties (3) in World Cup history (excluding shootouts). Messi became the second player after Klose to score four-plus goals at three different World Cup tournaments.