Messi Becomes World Cup All-Time Top Scorer with Historic Goal Against Austria

Lionel Messi has taken the lead as the all-time top scorer in FIFA World Cup history by netting his 17th goal, surpassing former German star Miroslav Klose, who scored 16 goals.

This record-breaking goal came during Argentina's match against Austria, where Messi scored in the 38th minute to give his team a 1-0 advantage in the second round of Group 10.

Messi, the captain of the defending champions Argentina, began his sixth World Cup campaign by scoring a hat-trick against Algeria, securing a 3-0 victory in the opening round.

At 38 years old, Messi now stands alone at the top of the World Cup all-time scoring list, followed by Miroslav Klose with 16 goals. French forward Kylian Mbappé and German legend Gerd Müller each have 14 goals, while Frenchman Just Fontaine has 13. The late Brazilian icon Pelé ranks with 12 goals.

With his goal against Austria, Messi increased his tally to four goals in the current World Cup edition, making him the leading scorer of the tournament so far.

Before scoring, Messi missed a penalty in the ninth minute, marking the first missed penalty of the 2026 World Cup. This miss also made him the first player in history to miss three penalties in World Cup tournaments.

Previously, Messi missed a penalty during the 1-1 draw with Iceland in the 2018 World Cup and another in Argentina's 2-0 win over Poland in the 2022 World Cup.