Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title in Doha, is still adding to his record book at the 2026 tournament. In Argentina’s opener against Algeria on June 22, 2026, he scored a hat trick and became the all-time World Cup scoring leader, moving level with Miroslav Klose on 16 goals and passing Brazil’s Ronaldo. Kylian Mbappe is fourth with 14, so that scoring mark could fall soon.
Messi also set a new World Cup record for goals from outside the box, reaching six after two long-range strikes against Kansas. His previous long-range World Cup goals came against Bosnia, Iran, Nigeria and Mexico. At 38 years and 357 days, he became the oldest player ever to score a hat trick at a World Cup, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s record by nearly five years.
The Argentine captain now has 27 World Cup appearances, the most in history, and has worn the captain’s armband in 20 of them, also a record. He has 17 wins, tied with Klose, and 8 assists, tying Diego Maradona for the tournament lead. He is the only player to provide an assist in five different World Cups and shares the record for most knockout-stage assists, six, with Pele.
Messi was also the first player to score in World Cups across his 20s, 30s and 40s, and the first to score in tournaments 20 years apart. He remains the only player to win the World Cup Golden Ball twice, in 2014 and 2022. If he scores a hat trick again, he would become only the fourth player to do so at a World Cup, and he is aiming to become the first captain in history to win the tournament twice.
