Out goes Miroslav Klose, in comes Lionel Messi. New record, new legend! With today’s brace against Austria, Lionel Messi officially becomes the FIFA World Cup’s all-time leading scorer.
The top should always be graced with excellence, and after Klose, no name would capture that standard in football better than Lionel Messi. Congratulations to the boy from Rosario.
Messi now boasts 18 goals in 28 World Cup appearances, with two of the appearances made in the ongoing 2026 tournament. He has displaced Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who has held the top spot since 2014.
Klose scored 16 goals in 24 World Cup appearances, while Ronaldo Nazario from Brazil had 15 goals from 19 matches.
Messi already has five goals in the 2026 tournament after today’s brace and a hat-trick against Algeria, but the sky’s the limit.
Messy Had a Bumpy Start To His World Cup Career
Lionel Messi did not have it all easy at the start of his World Cup career. In fact, his career seems to be the exact opposite of that of his predecessor, Miroslav Klose.
Klose scored most of his goals in his first two tournaments, unlike Messi, who has scored most of his goals late in his career. Messi only managed to score 1 goal in his first two World Cup tournaments, while Klose scored 10 goals, 5 in each.
In the first four tournaments, Messi scored six goals: four in 2014, one in 2006, another in 2018, and none in 2010. His triumph, however, came in the 2022 tournament in Qatar, where he scored 7 goals and helped Argentina win the title.
In the ongoing tournament, Messi has so far scored 5 goals in only two games. It is too early to insinuate that we might have another 2022 moment, but again, this is Lionel Messi.
Time and time again, he has proved that he can rewrite football history before our very eyes. With a game still in hand against Jordan on Sunday and even more to come post the group stage, Messi could still give us surprises.
Other Names In The 2026 World Cup
Apart from Messi, there are still several other names worth mentioning as far as the 2026 tournament is concerned. One such name is Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 2026 tournament makes the total number of his World Cups 6 with 8 goals, including a hat-trick scored in 2018 against Spain. Ronaldo is one phenomenal name in football, and even though he hasn’t scored so far, we can’t write him off just yet.
Another figure to watch, and who is actually giving Lionel Messi a run for the top spot, is Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe has already scored four goals with France in this tournament, including a brace against Senegal and another against Iraq, bringing his total to 16.
With 16 career World Cup goals, he is now tied with Miroslav Klose for second place on the all-time scoring list
With the kind of determination he has, it’s no secret that Kylian Mbappe is not done yet. He is definitely looking to shatter more records, which is not a daydream, given the kind of squad he has in his team, France.
Apart from Mbappe, France’s squad has some other big names in world football, including Ballon Dior’s Ousman Dembele and youngsters like Michael Olise.
Having emerged as runners-up in the 2022 season, France is still one of the most competitive teams in the tournament and is among the gambler’s favorites to win the tournament.
A Merged Insight Exclusive.
