Published on 6/22/2026
Argentine star Lionel Messi broke the record for the most scored players in the history of the FIFA World Cup, raising his tally to 17 goals in the global event, on Monday against Austria in Dallas in the 2026 edition in North America.
Messi, the world’s best player eight times, who will turn thirty-nine on Wednesday, scored the opening goal with a left-handed shot in the 39th minute, after missing an early penalty kick, to set the record he shared in the first match against Algeria when he scored a hat-trick, with German Miroslav Klose, which amounted to 16 goals.
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A negative number haunts Messi in the World Cup
Egyptian referee Amin Omar awarded a penalty kick for Argentina after referring to the video technology, which indicated that Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez was obstructed by Austrian defense duo Stefan Bosch and Schlager.
But Messi missed a penalty kick, shooting the ball near the post, and Tango missed an early goal opportunity after only nine minutes.
Thus, the Argentine star also missed the first penalty kick in the 2026 World Cup, leaving his score of 16 goals equal with former German star Miroslav Klose as the tournament’s all-time top scorer.
The Argentine star also became the first player in history to miss three penalty kicks, as he previously missed a penalty kick in a 1-1 draw with Iceland in the 2018 World Cup, and missed another kick in the 2-0 win over Poland in the 2022 World Cup.
On the other hand, Liu scored four penalty kicks, all of which came in the 2022 World Cup, the first in the 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia, then the Netherlands and Croatia in the qualifying rounds, and finally France in the final match.
It is noteworthy that the captain of the defending champions, Argentina, began his sixth participation in the World Cup by scoring a hat-trick against Algeria, giving his country a 3-0 win in the first round.
The 10 highest-scoring players in World Cup history
- Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 17 goals
The captain of the Argentine national team became the all-time leading scorer in the World Cup after surpassing Miroslav Klose’s record during the 2026 World Cup. - Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 16 goals
The German striker maintained the record since the 2014 World Cup before Messi broke it in the 2026 edition. - Ronaldo Nazario (Brazil) – 15 goals
The “Phenomenon” led Brazil to the 2002 title, and remains the third-highest scorer in the tournament’s history. - Gerd Müller (West Germany) – 14 goals
He is considered one of the greatest strikers in the history of football, and scored his 14 goals in only 13 matches. - Kylian Mbappé (France) – 14 goals
The French star continues to chase historical numbers, after reaching 14 goals in only 15 matches. - Just Fontaine (France) – 13 goals
He still holds the record for the most goals in a single World Cup, after scoring 13 goals in the 1958 World Cup. - Pele (Brazil) – 12 goals
The Brazilian football legend and the youngest player to win the World Cup, he scored 12 goals in four appearances. - Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) – 11 goals
He achieved the highest scoring average among top scorers, scoring 11 goals in only five matches. - Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) – 11 goals
One of Germany’s most prominent strikers in the 1990s, he participated in three World Cups. - Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina) – 10 goals
He shares tenth place with a number of players who scored 10 goals, most notably Harry Kane, Gary Lineker and Thomas Muller.
The list of players who scored 10 goals also includes Helmut Rahn from West Germany, Gary Lineker from England, Teofilo Cubillas from Peru, Thomas Müller from Germany, Gregorz Lato from Poland, in addition to Harry Kane from England.
