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Lionel Messi wrote his name in the history books of football on Monday by scoring his 17th goal in World Cups, becoming the all-time leading scorer in the most important competition on the planet. The goal came in the 38th minute of the match between Argentina and Austria, which was part of the second round of Group J of the 2026 World Cup held in Dallas.
The road to the record was not easy. In the ninth minute, the albiceleste captain missed a penalty that went wide of the Austrian goal. Far from being shaken, Messi responded with the goal that changed the course of history: just before halftime, he found the net at AT&T Stadium and unleashed Argentine euphoria. With his index fingers pointing skyward—his signature gesture of gratitude—he capped off a play that the football world had been waiting for years.
With that goal, Messi surpassed the record he shared with the German Miroslav Klose until this Monday, who scored 16 goals over four World Cup tournaments (2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014). Klose set that mark on July 8, 2014, during the semifinal in Brazil, surpassing the Brazilian Ronaldo at that time. That record stood for twelve years until the Argentine star matched it and then exceeded it.
The immediate precedent was Argentina's debut in this tournament, on June 17 against Algeria in Kansas City, when Messi scored his first World Cup hat-trick in the 3-0 victory, bringing his total to 16 goals, tying Klose. Just five days later, against Austria, he surpassed that.
Argentina arrived at the match in Dallas with three points and a better goal difference than its opponent, who also had three points after defeating Jordan 3-1 in the first round. The match determined the lead in Group J and, at halftime, Argentina was leading 1-0 thanks to a historic goal from its captain.
This is Messi's sixth consecutive World Cup, having participated in every edition since Germany 2006. In Qatar 2022, he lifted the World Cup with Argentina, the third star that he now wears on the albiceleste jersey. He is also the only player in history to have scored in every stage of a World Cup tournament: group stage, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final.
The reaction from the football world was immediate. DAZN Spain captured the moment with a phrase that spread across social media: “History of football. History of humanity”, while DAZN Football confirmed that Messi “surpasses Klose and is now at 17 goals in the World Cup.”
The record of Miroslav Klose took twelve years to break. Messi's, with the tournament still ongoing, could continue to grow.
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