Lionel Messi became the tournament’s all-time leading scorer after netting twice against Austria on June 22, 2026, in a second-round group stage match. The Argentina number 10 reached his fifth goal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and has now scored a total of 18 goals since his first in 2006 against Serbia and Montenegro.
With his first goal of the match, Messi surpassed Miroslav Klose the German striker who had held the record of 16 goals since the 2014 World Cup and with whom Messi had tied last Tuesday after scoring a hat-trick against Algeria thereby becoming the sole record-holder for the most goals in the history of the planet’s most prestigious football tournament.
