Lionel Messi Makes World Cup History With All-Time Record Number of Goals

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is well underway, and already a number of records have been set or, in some cases, shattered. Numerous countries have scored their very first World Cup goal this year, including, according to FIFA, Curaçao, Congo DR, Cabo Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan. On June 20, Japan also had their first-ever World Cup clean sheet, and on June 21, Egypt had their first-ever World Cup win.

Clearly, this is a year of major milestones-helped in large part by the fact that the 2026 World Cup has invited a record-breaking 48 countries to the international tournament this year. While many of these firsts are exciting, fans are particularly eager to see all-time records broken by some of soccer's biggest names, including the long-time "Greatest of All Time" competitors Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

All eyes have particularly been on the latter since his most recent game on June 16, when he scored an incredible three goals (referred to as a "hat trick" in the sport) for Argentina-the team's only goals against Algeria in that game. While that hat trick would have been impressive in and of itself, this was so much more than just a great game for Messi. Rather, this meant that Messi was now tied with Germany's retired player Miroslav Klose for the all-time record of most career goals scored by a player at the World Cup.

Heading into today's match versus Austria, Messi was certainly looking to secure another win for Argentina, but there's no question that he simultaneously had his sights set on becoming the all-time record holder, shattering Klose's record by scoring his 17th career goal at a World Cup.

Finally, Messi has done exactly that, securing a goal for the celebrated Argentinian team-which remains a fan-favorite pick for the predicted 2026 World Cup winners overall-in the 38th minute. Now, the question remains: Can there really be any doubt that Messi is the GOAT?

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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 10:41 AM.