Updated June 22, 2026, 3:58 p.m. ET
Lionel Messi now stands alone as the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.
The Argentina legend scored his 17th and 18th career World Cup goals Monday, June 22, against Austria. The first goal came in the 38th minute, breaking the men’s World Cup record of 16 that was held by Germany’s Miroslav Klose. Messi received a pass from the left as he ran into the box and gracefully fired straight past the goalkeeper to make history.
He then scored again just before the whistle blew on a 2-0 win for Argentina, not giving up on a ball bobbling around the goal line, until he put it past the keeper.
That one put him past Brazil’s Marta, who previously held the all-time World Cup goals record with 17 in her six tournament appearances.
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Messi entered the 2026 World Cup on 13 career goals, but surged up to 16 after scoring a hat trick against Algeria in Argentina’s opening game on June 17.
It seemed Messi was going to break the record when he stepped to the line for a penalty kick 12 minutes into Monday’s match against Austria, but shockingly, he missed wide right.
France star Kylian Mbappe is also climbing the list after he scored twice against Senegal for 14 career World Cup goals. The 27-year-old forward will look to add to that total later on Monday when France faces Iraq.
Mbappe is nearly 12 years younger than Messi, so he has a shot to eventually overtake the Argentina legend.
See Messi’s new Adidas Argentina jerseys
Photos of Messi’s record-breaking goal
Messi goal from another angle
Most all-time men’s World Cup goals
- 18 – Lionel Messi, Argentina
- 16 – Miroslav Klose, Germany
- 15 – Ronaldo, Brazil
- 14 – Gerd Muller, West Germany
- 14 – Kylian Mbappe, France
- 13 – Just Fontaine, France
- 12 – Pele, Brazil
- 11 – Sandor Kocsis, Hungary
- 11 – Jurgen Klinsmann, West Germany and Germany
- 10 – Helmut Rahn, West Germany
- 10 – Gary Lineker, England
- 10 – Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina
- 10 – Teofilo Cubillas, Peru
- 10 – Thomas Muller, Germany
- 10 – Grzergor Lato, Poland
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