Lionel Messi etched another line in World Cup folklore on Tuesday night, scoring the first hat-trick of his career at the tournament to draw level with Miroslav Klose as the competition’s top scorer. The 38-year-old scored three times as defending champions Argentina opened their 2026 campaign with a commanding 3-0 win over Algeria in front of a packed Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
His hat-trick took his World Cup tally to 16 goals, equaling the mark Klose scored for Germany in four tournaments between 2002 and 2014. No player in men’s World Cup history has scored more.
A record 20 years in the making
The milestone came exactly 20 years to the day since Messi made his World Cup debut against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, a game in which the teenager also found the net. He is now only the second player to score in five different editions of the tournament and, at 38, became the oldest man ever to record a World Cup hat-trick, surpassing the record set by Cristiano Ronaldo against Spain in 2018.
It was also Messi’s 200th game for Argentina and the 61st hat-trick of his career, but notably his first on the World Cup stage. Already the only player to feature in six World Cups, he continues to add milestones to a career thought to have peaked with the same trophy in Qatar.
How the goals came
Messi opened the scoring in the 17th minute, with a left-footed shot from the edge of the area in front of Luca Zidane, son of the great Frenchman Zinedine. He added a second early in the second half before making it seven moments before being substituted, collecting a return pass from Nico Gonzalez and sliding a typically composed finish into the bottom corner.
The Argentine captain was visibly moved after his first goal, wiping away tears. He later explained that the moment had little to do with football, saying only that he had been through “some difficult days” but was grateful for the continued support of his teammates and the wider delegation.
The race for the absolute record
Messi now shares top spot on the all-time list with Klose, two ahead of Brazil’s Ronaldo at 15. France captain Kylian Mbappe, who scored twice in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Senegal, is the closest active challenger on 14. You can see how the top scorers compare in our round-up of Top 10 World Cup goalscorers of all timenext to the wider one All time world records and statistics.
Messi was typically understated afterwards, describing it as an honor to be alongside Klose and Ronaldo, but insisted the numbers were ultimately just statistics. With Argentina sharp and a deep run on the cards, that humility may be put to the test. One more goal would leave Messi alone at the top of the World Cup goalscoring charts and, on Tuesday’s evidence, the shared record looks unlikely to last long.
For a player who has already won every honor the game can offer, the chance to claim the World Cup’s most prestigious individual record adds another tantalizing subplot to Argentina’s title defence. Messi, who turns 39 next week, still shows little sign of fading.
