Lionel Messi added another chapter to World Cup history overnight, between Tuesday and Wednesday, when he equaled Miroslav Klose as the tournament’s all-time top scorer and led Argentina to a 3-0 win over Algeria with a brilliant hat trick. His close friend Rodrigo De Paul, who also plays with him at Inter Miami, said Messi does not chase milestones, saying, “He doesn’t know most of the records. I swear to you he is not chasing personal records, but he achieves them all.” Messi will turn 39 next week, but he still has several major marks within reach at this World Cup.
He could pass Klose as the outright World Cup scoring leader as soon as Argentina’s second group match, against Austria on June 22, or their third, against Jordan on June 28. A victory in the next game would also move him past Klose for the most World Cup wins, with 18. Another assist would give Messi the tournament record for assists, moving him ahead of Diego Maradona, with both currently on eight. A further penalty goal would make him the World Cup’s all-time penalty-scoring leader, excluding shootouts.
Messi already owns the records for most World Cup appearances, with 27, and most minutes played, with 2,394, and is expected to extend both by the end of the 2026 tournament. If he reaches a third World Cup final, he would join a select group that includes Pele, Cafu, Ronaldo, Lothar Matthaus and Pierre Littbarski. If he reaches the final and scores, he would break the record he set in Qatar as the oldest goalscorer in a World Cup final, when he scored against France at 35 years and 177 days.
The match also marked Messi’s sixth World Cup appearance, an all-time record that Cristiano Ronaldo is also expected to equal, along with Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa if he plays for his national team.
