Lionel Messi: Argentina captain becomes World Cup’s all-time leading scorer

Argentina captain Lionel Messi added another historic milestone to his World Cup career after becoming the outright leading goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history.

Messi scored his 17th World Cup goal during Argentina’s match against Austria. The move began and ended with the forward, taking him beyond Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who previously held the record with 16 goals.

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The achievement added another landmark to a career already defined by records and major trophies.

Historic record broken

With his latest goal, Messi moved clear at the top of the World Cup scoring chart.

The updated list now stands as:

17 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)
16 – Miroslav Klose (Germany)
15 – Ronaldo (Brazil)
14 – Kylian Mbappé (France)
14 – Gerd Müller (Germany)
13 – Just Fontaine (France)
12 – Pele (Brazil)

Messi’s goal further strengthened his place among football’s most influential players.

Penalty miss creates another statistic

The same match also produced a contrasting moment.

Messi missed a penalty during the game against Austria. Excluding shootouts, the miss meant he now holds the record for both the most penalties scored and the most penalties missed in FIFA World Cup history.

His World Cup penalty record now stands at seven scored and three missed.

World Cup penalties:

Missed vs Iceland (2018)
Scored vs Saudi Arabia (2022)
Missed vs Poland (2022)
Scored vs Netherlands (2022)
Scored vs Croatia (2022)
Scored vs France (2022)
Missed vs Austria (2026)

A career defined by achievement

The result served as another reminder that even football’s greatest players are not flawless.

Despite setbacks, Messi continues to deliver defining moments on the sport’s biggest stage.

His latest appearance added another chapter to a World Cup journey built on records, longevity and remarkable consistency.