Lionel Messi made history once again in his sixth World Cup participation with Argentina after scoring a hat-trick against Algeria in their debut of the 2026 edition, where he already tied the historical goal record of the German Miroslav Klose.
With the three goals that took place in the 17th, 60th, and 76th minutes, Messi reached the record of 16 goals in the World Cup, the same as Klose, and now has the rest of the tournament to expand that number.
From now on, the outlook is fantastic, as with this result, Argentina have half a foot inside the next stage of the competition, which means more opportunities for Messi to continue expanding that number, and something that supports him is the group, with their next matches being against Austria and Jordan.
The World Cup top scorers list
Among the active players looking to break the goalscoring record, one is undoubtedly Messi, who remains more relevant than ever. This was demonstrated with that hat-trick, as he even became the oldest player in World Cup history to score three goals in a single match, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina
One of his competitors for the record, who still has a couple more World Cups to achieve it, is Kylian Mbappe. In the match where France faced Senegal, he scored a brace and approached the record, currently having 14 with the entire 2026 World Cup ahead of him. Below is the list of top scorers:
- Lionel Messi – 16 goals
- Miroslav Klose – 16 goals
- Ronaldo Nazario – 15
- Gerd Muller – 14
- Just Fontaine – 13
- Pele – 12
- Kylian Mbappe – 12
A Messi record that Ronaldo can extend
With the goals scored against Algeria, Messi equaled Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players in World Cup history who have scored in five different editions of the tournament. However, Ronaldo can extend this record if he scores in this edition with Portugal.
