Messi breaks tie with Klose for most WC goals
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Lionel Messi scored twice in Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria, moving to 18 career World Cup goals and breaking a tie with Germany's Miroslav Klose for the men's all-time record.
- Messi entered Monday on 16 goals after a hat trick in the opener against Algeria, missed a ninth-minute penalty, then curled home from a cutback in the 38th minute and added a stoppage-time second.
- Messi's 18 goals also move him clear of Brazil's Marta, the women's World Cup top scorer with 17.
- Messi has now scored in six consecutive World Cup games since 2022, accounts for all five of Argentina's goals in the 2026 tournament, and became the first player to appear in six men's World Cups — a span of 20 years from his first goal in 2006.
- Argentina extended its World Cup winning streak to eight matches since a 2022 opening loss to Saudi Arabia, clinching a round-of-32 berth atop Group J with six points from two games.
- Messi now has 122 international goals for Argentina, trailing only Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 143; the 12 World Cup goals since turning 35 are the latest entry in a record book he has owned for two decades.
Why it matters: Messi's 18 World Cup goals — scored across six tournaments and 20 years — make him the outright leader in both the men's and combined FIFA World Cup goal rankings, surpassing even Marta's women's mark. The record cements his status as the most productive scorer in tournament history and propels defending champion Argentina into the round of 32 with a perfect six points from two group games.
Ask SkimNews
