Messi becomes FIFA World Cup’s all-time highest goal-scorer, goes past Klose

3 min readUpdated: Jun 23, 2026 12:35 AM IST

Argentina's Lionel Messi (10), right, scores the opening goal of his team during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Austria in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Lionel Messi shattered another record on Monday in the match against Austria when he eclipsed German icon Miroslav Klose and became the all-time highest goal-scorer in FIFA World Cup history with a 38th minute strike. In the last match against Algeria, Messi had drawn level with Klose with 16 goals when he had slammed a hattrick. On Monday, he went past the German with a brace and now has a tally of 18 strikes in World Cups.

Earlier in the match, Messi had missed a chance in the 9th minute to seal the record but ended up missing a penalty which was given after a lengthy check after Lautaro Martinez was fouled in the Austria penalty box.

Last week, exactly 20 years since making his World Cup debut where he became Argentina’s youngest-ever World Cup scorer, Messi dazzled in his 200th international appearance, setting up a fiery start for the reigning world champions.

Messi’s first goal came in the 17th minute, curling a left-footed shot past Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane (the son of French legend Zinedine Zidane) from open play outside the box. The second goal came in a canter, after a teammate took a shot at goal, Zidane could not collect it and ended up sending it back into to play where Messi was at hand to seal the goal with a tap in.

Messi netted a record hat-trick in the 76th minute, where he clinically finished off some good build up play from his teammates. Just over a minute after he had completed his first hat-trick in World Cup history, Messi was subbed off to a standing ovation.

The 38-year-old Messi edged out his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo to become the oldest man to net a World Cup hat-trick. Ronaldo acheived the feat in 2018 at 33 years old. Messi also bagged his 11th hat-trick in the Argentine shirt, overhauling Ronaldo’s tally of 10 hat-tricks to record the most hat-trick in men’s international football.

Check out the updated list of the highest goal-scorers in World Cup history

Rank

Player

Country

Goals

Matches

Tournaments (Wins in Bold)

1

Lionel Messi

Argentina

18

28

2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026

2

Miroslav Klose

Germany

16

24

2002, 2006, 2010, 2014

3

Ronaldo

Brazil

15

19

1994, 1998, 2002, 2006

T4

Gerd Muller

West Germany

14

13

1970, 1974

T4

Kylian Mbappe

France

14

15

2018, 2022, 2026

5

Just Fontaine

France

13

26

1958

6

Pele

Brazil

12

14

1958, 1962, 1966, 1970

T7

Sandor Kocsis

Hungary

11

5

1954

T7

Jurgen Klinsmann

Germany

11

17

1990, 1994, 1998

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