Lionel Messi’s World Cup journey has entered another legendary chapter, with the Argentina captain continuing to break records and chase milestones at football’s biggest tournament.
Following his stunning hat-trick against Algeria at the FIFA World Cup 2026, Messi matched Germany legend Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals while also equalling another Klose achievement: 17 victories at the global finals.
At 38 years and 357 days old, Messi also became the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s previous record from the 2018 tournament.
Messi was already Argentina’s greatest World Cup goalscorer before adding his latest milestone.
His tally now places him ahead of legendary South American forwards, including Gabriel Batistuta, Diego Maradona and Gonzalo Higuain.
His treble against Algeria also saw him overtake Brazil icon Ronaldo Nazario to become the highest-scoring South American player in World Cup history.
The Argentina star also set a new benchmark for long-range goals, becoming the player with the most World Cup strikes from outside the box after scoring twice from distance in Kansas City.
Messi is the only player in history to feature at six World Cups, a record he previously shared with football greats such as Antonio Carbajal, Lothar Matthaus, Rafa Marquez and Andres Guardado.
His World Cup appearance record continues to grow, with the Argentine already holding the record for most matches played in the competition.
After making his 27th appearance against Algeria, Messi is now closing in on becoming the first player to reach 30 World Cup games.
He also owns the record for the most World Cup appearances as captain, leading the list ahead of Marquez and Maradona.
Messi’s impact has never been limited to scoring goals. The Argentine remains the only player to provide an assist in five different World Cups.
He shares the record for most knockout-stage assists with Pele, while the pair also lead the charts for most World Cup goal contributions.
His historic 2022 campaign in Qatar saw him become the first player to score in the group stage, last 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final of the same World Cup.
Messi’s World Cup story stretches across generations. He remains the only player to score at the tournament as a teenager, in his twenties and in his thirties.
His first and most recent World Cup goals came exactly 20 years apart — another record that highlights his extraordinary longevity.
The Argentina captain has also won the Player of the Match award more times than any player in World Cup history and is the only footballer to win the adidas Golden Ball twice, achieving the honour at Brazil 2014 and Qatar 2022.
With every appearance, Messi continues to add new pages to football history — and his World Cup legacy is still being written.
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