In the ninth minute at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Lionel Messi stepped up to take a penalty and stuttered in his run-up. The shot went wide. It was the one moment on Monday afternoon that almost denied him history.
It didn’t last long. Twenty-nine minutes later, Messi caught Austria’s goalkeeper leaning the wrong way and curled a left-footed strike into the net. That was goal 17. He added an 18th in injury time. Argentina won 2-0, and Messi is now the top scorer in World Cup history — men’s or women’s, combined.
He broke two records in one afternoon. His 17th goal surpassed Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who had held the men’s record at 16 since the 2014 World Cup. His 18th moved him past Brazil’s Marta, who leads the women’s all-time list at 17. No other player — in any edition of the World Cup — has scored more than Messi now has.
The path to 18 moved quickly once the 2026 tournament started. Messi scored a hat trick against Algeria on June 16, his first ever at a World Cup, to reach 16 and match Klose. Two more goals on Monday moved him clear of everyone else.
What makes the numbers harder to process is his age. Messi is 38 and turns 39 on June 24 — one day after these figures hit the record books. He scored his first World Cup goal against Serbia and Montenegro back in 2006, when he was 18. Twenty years later, he is still the best player on the field.
Twelve of his 18 World Cup goals have come since he turned 35. That stretch alone would rank among the highest individual scoring tallies in tournament history.
“Beyond anything I’m so happy for the win,” Messi said after the final whistle. “It was huge, tough and difficult. It would allow us to be relaxed about what’s ahead.”
The win also locks Argentina into the knockout rounds. They lead Group J with six points from two games and have now won eight straight World Cup matches — a run that started after their shock loss to Saudi Arabia in the 2022 opener. Messi has scored all five of Argentina’s goals in this tournament.
