Lionel Messi claimed his record “doesn’t mean anything” after the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner started the World Cup 2026 with all three goals in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria to ensure no player has scored more goals at the finals than the 38-year-old.
Albiceleste captain Messi matched Germany legend Miroslav Klose’s record 16 goals at the World Cup with his first hat-trick at the tournament on a day he called “difficult and complicated” because of “a matter totally separate from sport”.
“It is an honour to be there, for what it means, to be next to Klose,” said Messi, namechecking Brazilian great Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe, whose two goals in France’s 3-1 win over Senegal hours earlier included an astonishing strike from distance.
“Although it is a source of pride to be able to compete with them all, it doesn’t mean anything to me.”
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Klose, Messi, Ronaldo: Who has scored the most World Cup goals?
Klose scored 16 goals across four successive finals between 2002 and 2014, lifting the trophy at the fourth of those tournaments.
Messi has appeared at each of the last five tournaments and won the title in 2022. Brazil icon Ronaldo is third on the list with 15 goals, going to each edition between 1994 and 2006.
“Ronaldo is also there, but I think it doesn’t mean anything,” reiterated Messi. “Mbappe also scored two today.
“In the end, it is statistics and nothing else. Ronaldo, from what I saw, was one of the greatest and he is not first – that is, he is not alone in terms of statistics.”
Here are the nine players to have scored more than 10 goals at the World Cup. Among the players involved in 2026, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazil’s Neymar and England’s Harry Kane are each on eight.
| Player | Team | Goals | Matches |
| Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 | 24 |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 16 | 27 |
| Ronaldo | Brazil | 15 | 19 |
| Gerd Muller | West Germany | 14 | 13 |
| Kylian Mbappe | France | 14 | 15 |
| Just Fontaine | France | 13 | 6 |
| Pele | Brazil | 12 | 14 |
| Jurgen Klinsmann | West Germany/Germany | 11 | 17 |
| Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 5 |
World Cup 2026: Messi cries in Argentina vs Algeria
Argentina’s record scorer was unusually emotional after scoring the 17th-minute opener, which he added to with two second-half goals.
“I had a difficult and complicated day but I’m grateful to the whole delegation, to all my teammates, because they’ve always been there for me, giving me a lot of strength to do well,” Messi said after explaining that his reaction had not been football-related.
“I’ve been lucky to have achieved all the dreams I could have achieved, individually and with a group. I’m enjoying being part of a beautiful group, of feeling good, luckily, to be able to enjoy it on the pitch as I’ve always liked it.”
World Cup 2026: Why Argentina are not ‘complacent’
“As long as Leo wants, he will be the best,” said Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni. “He’s been doing it every game for 20 years.
“It’s exciting to watch for anyone who loves football. What Leo conveys is spectacular; it’s hard to explain. His teammates see him as a god and also as a kid from the neighborhood.
“For us, the team still comes first. When we’ve had difficulties, we’ve come out on top. We are a tenacious team and we know that when we have the ball we can do damage.
“We’re not going to get complacent; it strengthens us to know that if we do things right and work like we [did against Algeria], we’ll make it hard for teams to beat us.
“We make the players understand that anyone can beat us if we don’t work well, and they understand that.”
Lionel Messi next match at FIFA World Cup 2026
Messi’s next appearance at the World Cup is set to be in Argentina’s second game of the tournament against Austria in Dallas on June 22 at 18:00 BST.
| Date | Match | Result | Stage | Time (BST) | ET | PT | Channel |
| June 17 | Algeria | 3-0 | Group | 02:00 | 21:00 | 18:00 | ITV |
| June 22 | Austria | Group | 18:00 | 13:00 | 10:00 | BBC | |
| June 28 | Jordan | Group | 03:00 | 22:00 | 19:00 | BBC |
Lionel Messi World Cup fixtures: Knockout stage, full bracket
Should Argentina justify their status as favourites to win their group, they will face the runners-up from Group H in the last 32. Messi’s team will meet the winners of that section if they come second.
That could produce a tricky-looking tie against Cape Verde – who have already held Spain – a Saudi Arabia side who beat Argentina at the last edition of the finals or La Roja, the reigning European champions.
Argentina will face one of the group winners if they finish among the best-performing third-placed teams in the group stage. You can see the full bracket on FIFA’s site.
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