Edi Umoh
Argentina captain Lionel Messi has made history as the highest goal scorer in FIFA World Cup history after taking his tally to 17 goals in the Mundial.
Messi became the highest goal scorer in World Cup history Monday, moving up to 18 with a superb double in Argentina’s Group J match against Austria and breaking a tie with Germany legend Miroslav Klose.
He entered the day on 16 goals following a hat trick in Argentina’s opener, and missed a penalty early on against Austria which briefly denied him the outright record.
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But, the Argentina soccer maestro curled home from a cutback in the 38th minute and then added a late second in the 2-0 win in Dallas, which secures defending champion Argentina’s place in the knockouts.
The Argentina captain has now scored in six consecutive World Cup games since 2022 and his 18th goal all-time also moves him clear of women’s World Cup top scorer Marta, who has 17.
Kylian Mbappé joined Klose on 16 in Monday’s later kickoff with a double of his own as France beat Iraq 3-0.
“There were moments when I was really angry about missing the penalty, but I was able to make up for it,” Messi said.
Messi had tied Klose’s record by scoring a hat trick during Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria to kick off the 2026 World Cup on June 16. The hat trick stands as the 11th of Messi’s international career, but first at a World Cup.
Messi scored his first World Cup goal on June 16, 2006, at 18 years old, netting a second-half strike against Serbia and Montenegro.
Twenty years later, he continues to break records by leading in goal count and becoming the first player to feature in six different editions of a men’s World Cup.
The goals put Messi up to 122 international goals for Argentina, trailing only Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 143.
Argentina’s triumph on Monday afternoon propelled Messi to lead in most men’s World Cup victories as well.
“Beyond anything I’m so happy for the win,” Messi said. “It was huge, tough and difficult. It would allow us to be relaxed to what’s ahead. All matches in this World Cup are very even, very intense. I’m enjoying this moment and craving to enjoy with my teammates.”
The updated all-time World Cup goals standings are:
* Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 17 goals
* Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 16 goals
* Ronaldo Nazário (Brazil) – 15 goals
* Kylian Mbappé (France) – 14 goals
* Gerd Müller (Germany) – 14 goals
* Just Fontaine (France) – 13 goals
* Pelé (Brazil) – 12 goals.
