Overview
- Lionel Messi scored for Argentina against Austria at AT&T Stadium in the 2026 group stage to bring his overall World Cup total to 17 and pass Miroslav Klose’s previous mark of 16.
- Messi missed a ninth-minute penalty in the same match, which would have given him the record earlier in the game.
- He opened the 2026 tournament with a hat-trick against Algeria, and the three goals there directly contributed to his new total.
- Messi’s World Cup scoring record reflects six tournaments across a 20-year span since his 2006 debut, including four goals in 2014, one in 2018, and seven in Argentina’s 2022 title run.
- Kylian Mbappé, on 14 World Cup goals and substantially younger, is the most plausible near-term challenger and his scoring in 2026 will determine how long Messi’s mark stands.