Messi is now the tournament’s all-time and current edition’s leading goalscorer with 17 and four goals respectively.Published On 22 Jun 202622 Jun 2026Lionel Messi has broken the record for the highest number of goals in the history of the FIFA World Cup after scoring his team’s opening goal in their Group J match against Austria, taking his tally to 17 goals in six football tournaments.The Argentinian captain reached the top of the charts on Monday when he swept home after 38 minutes in his team’s second group game, to deafening roars at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas in the United States.Messi had equalled Miroslav Klose’s all-time mark of 16 World Cup goals by hitting a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria to open the South American nation’s title defence in North America last week.The 38-year-old had missed a penalty earlier in the game.Messi is playing at his sixth World Cup, his first coming in 2006, and he now has 121 goals in 201 games for his country.He is the third player to score in six successive World Cups for his country.His enduring quality augurs well for Argentina’s hopes of becoming the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cup titles.Messi was tearful after his first goal against Algeria, and it later emerged that his father is recovering from an unspecified health issue.Despite his personal travails and a troubled build-up because of a hamstring niggle, Messi’s mere presence inspires his teammates.“If anyone thought this group was better off without Leo, today it …
