Lionel Messi Shatters Miroslav Klose’s Record To Become FIFA World Cup’s Highest Goal-Scorer

Argentina captain Lionel Messi added another milestone to his legendary career by becoming the highest goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history

Argentina captain Lionel Messi added another milestone to his legendary career by becoming the highest goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history. Messi surpassed Germany legend Miroslav Klose’s long-standing record after scoring against Austria in Argentina’s second match of the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday, June 22. With the goal in the Austria match, Messi took his World Cup tally to 17 goals, setting a new record in the tournament. The maestro has won a record eight Ballon d’Or awards and four FIFA Best Men’s Player of the Year awards. Along with that, the left-footed genius has won the UEFA Best Player award three times. Messi scored another goal towards the end of the match to take his tally to 18.

Top  FIFA World Cup Goalscorers

1. Lionel Messi – Argentina – 18

2. Miroslav Klose – Germany – 16

3. Ronaldo Nazario – Brazil – 15

4. Gerd Muller (West Germany) 14 and Kylian Mbappe (14)

5. Just Fontaine – France – 13

Coming to his goal, Messi gave Argentina the lead in the 38th minute. Thiago Almada found Medina on the left, and the full-back cut the ball back to Messi on the edge of the box. The Argentine captain struck a low effort into the bottom-left corner past Alexander Schlager to make it 1-0.

The 38-year-old has now scored in six consecutive World Cup matches and has equalled the record of six straight World Cup games with a goal, a mark jointly held by France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho.

The Argentine captain arrived in the match after a record-breaking performance in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Algeria in the team’s campaign opener, a game that further cemented his status as one of football’s greatest players.

Messi scored the first World Cup hat-trick of his career while making his 200th senior appearance for his country, helping the defending champions decisively open their campaign.

Messi’s display against Algeria shattered several other milestones. At 38 years and 357 days old, he became the oldest player ever to score a World Cup hat-trick, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s previous record set at the 2018 tournament.

The Argentina captain also holds records for most World Cup appearances (now 28) and most Man of the Match awards (12). Messi also holds the record for becoming the first player in football history to appear in six consecutive World Cups. His record was later matched by Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo when Portugal played against DR Congo.