After scoring a hat-trick of goals in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi became the joint highest goal scorer in the history of the competition.
Messi single handedly demolishing the North African nation, pushed his goal tally in the history of the tournament to 16 goals.
That ties German striker Miroslav Klose’s goal count as the top marksman in World Cup history as Argentina aim at successfully defending the World Cup title.
Messi’s first ever World Cup hat-trick was registered in the opening game at his sixth World Cup and in a post-game presser, the Inter Miami player shared that he was looking beyond the goals.
“It’s an honor being up there for what it means, being alongside Klose and [Brazil’s] Ronaldo, who is there also but it doesn’t mean anything.”
“[Kylian] Mbappé is there, too, he scored twice today. At the end of the day, they are stats and nothing more.”
“It’s an honor to compete with them, but it doesn’t mean anything. For me, Ronaldo, who I watched and is one of the greats, is not at the top. So, it’s just stats” Messi said.
France forward Kylian Mbappe scored twice in France’s 3-1 win over Senegal to move to 14 goals in World Cup history.
