FIFA World Cup 2026: Lionel Messi becomes greatest goal-scorer in World Cup history

Two days from turning 39, already older than Diego Maradona was when he retired from football, Lionel Messi cannot stop breaking records.

On Tuesday (AEST), the Argentina captain added another line to a career that includes magic, greatness and drama, scoring twice in a 2-0 win over Austria to become the World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer, with 18.

The icing on top of an already well-iced cake, the double saw him move past Brazil’s Marta (17) and Germany’s Miroslav Klose (16).

“I’ve always said that Messi is not bad,” Klose joked to the Suddeutsche Zeitung, describing him as the greatest player of all time.

History rewritten

An eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, Messi became La Liga’s all-time top scorer during a Barcelona tenure that spanned nearly two decades and yielded 34 trophies, including 10 Spanish league and four Champions League titles.

The Spanish team banked on the Rosario-born, Newell’s Old Boys-formed Messi from a very young age.

In 2012, he had already been responsible for what many describe as the greatest year a player has had in football, with 91 goals.

Across club football he owns a record 40 titles, while for Argentina he stands alone as the most-capped player with 201 appearances and the all-time leading scorer with 122 goals.

Messi, a father of three, has now also rewritten World Cup longevity.

Six tournaments played and a record 28 matches. The only player to score in the tournament as a teenager, in his 20s and in his 30s. Now, on the cusp of 40, he has authored one of the tournament’s most striking statistical triumphs.

Long-awaited Argentina glory

The Argentina glory, however, took time to arrive.

Messi burst onto the global stage in 2006 as a prodigy, but endured frustration in 2010 and 2018, and the anguish of the 2014 final defeat by Germany in Brazil. Copa America campaigns often ended in disappointment, including in 2016 when he missed a penalty in a shootout defeat by Chile in the final.

Yet the tide turned, and then surged. Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024, with the crowning achievement of the 2022 World Cup in between – a triumph that former striker Jorge Valdano described as liberating him to happiness.

There were detours. A muted spell at Paris St Germain between 2021 and 2023 prompted doubts about decline before a move to Inter Miami that many assumed would be his swansong.

But Messi has kept on giving, and even his blemishes feed the narrative. Against Austria at this tournament, he became the first player to miss penalties in three different World Cups, but responded with two goals that decided the match and reshaped the record books.

“There were moments when I felt a lot of anger after missing the penalty, but I was able to make up for it,” he said.

Messi has settled GOAT debate

Is Messi the GOAT – the greatest of all time – or is Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo?

It’s a debate that’s raged for the best part of two decades – but Socceroos great Harry Kewell believes Messi has settled the argument.

“I’m baffled how he’s got five goals already in the tournament,” Kewell said on SBS.

“Goals in the World Cup are so rare and special, and he’s already got five. It’s amazing, and credit where credit’s due.

“I know the debate about the best players and who’s the greatest, but I just don’t think you can argue against it anymore [that Messi is the GOAT].”

Host Claudio Fabiano agreed.

“You’d hate to be one of those people arguing at a bar,” Fabiano said with a grin.

“It just gets harder and harder to make a case against him.”

For the record, Ronaldo has scored eight World Cup goals. That’s 10 less than Messi.

In fact, Messi has scored more World Cup goals since turning 35 – a total of 12 goals – than Ronaldo has in his career.

Ronaldo has scored 973 career goals to Messi’s 915. He has also scored 143 international goals to the Argentine’s 121, and has five Champions League trophies to Messi’s four.

But Messi has more career trophies (48-37), more Ballon d’Or wins (eight to five), more Copa America trophies than Ronaldo has European Championship trophies (two to one), and more World Cup goals.

Messi, 38, has also won a World Cup. Ronaldo, 41, has not.

Ronaldo is a fading force

As Messi ages like the finest of wines, Ronaldo continues to be a fading force.

It was clear at the previous World Cup, the 2022 tournament in Qatar, that Ronaldo was past the peak of his powers. Portugal’s coach at the time, Fernando Santos, dropped him after the group stage. Come the end of the tournament, he had only one goal to his name.

He’s made a limp start to his 2026 World Cup campaign, going goalless as Portugal drew 1-1 with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He had just 29 touches and three shots. None of those shots were on target.

The coach in charge of Portugal at this World Cup, Roberto Martinez, decided to start Ronaldo in the game against the Congo, leaving many bemused. Among the critics of the decision to start Ronaldo is Paul Scholes, a former teammate of his at Manchester United.

“I think there’s only one position a 41-year-old player should start on the pitch,” Scholes said, per ESPN. “And that’s the goalkeeper.”

Reverence

Inside the Argentina camp, reverence for Messi borders on awe.

Defender Lisandro Martinez said: “There’s no need to compare him, because he stands alone at the top.”

When Messi arrived in the US for the World Cup, he was still behind the Brazilian Ronaldo’s 15 goals at the finals.

“For the gods of soccer, it’s a fitting statistic that he surpasses everyone. If there’s anyone who deserves this title, I think Messi is the perfect man to be there,” the former Brazil striker said.

What comes next feels like speculation rather than prediction. The march toward 1000 career goals (he has already more than 900)? A second World Cup title? Even a seventh appearance at the tournament in his 40s in 2030, when Argentina are slated to host one of the opening matches?

Few would dare to draw a line under Messi now.

He kept the door open after scoring a hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win in their World Cup opener against Algeria.

“As long as I can and I feel good enough to do it,” he said, “I’ll be there.”

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