Messi makes history and becomes the all-time top scorer in the FIFA World Cup (see top 5 scorers)

Lionel Messi (38) made history on Monday, becoming the all-time top scorer in the history of the FIFA Men’s World Cup.
He broke the previous record of 16 goals by scoring his 17th and 18th goals of the tournament in the 38th and 90th-plus minutes of Argentina’s Group J match against Austria in Dallas.

The record: His historic 18th goal surpassed Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who held the previous record of 16 goals from 2014.
Messi equaled the record with a stunning hat-trick in Argentina’s opening 3-0 win over Algeria, before scoring two goals in the tournament’s clash with Austria. He has scored all five of Argentina’s goals in the 2026 edition so far.
Participating in his sixth World Cup, Messi is now the first men’s player to play in six editions of the tournament (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026).

See below The all-time top World Cup scorers

Messi now stands alone at the top of the world stage, leading a prestigious list of football legends:
*Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 18 goals
*Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 16 goals
*Ronaldo Nazário (Brazil) – 15 goals
*Gerd Müller (Germany) – 14 goals
*Kylian Mbappé (France) – 14 goals