Messi level with Klose, one goal from history: World Cup scorers | OneFootball

With his hat-trick against Algeria in Argentina’s 2026 World Cup opener, Lionel Messi drew level with Miroslav Klose as the all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 16 goals. The Argentine star is neck and neck with Kylian Mbappé, who made his debut this Tuesday with a brace against Senegal and reached 14.

With his three goals against Algeria on matchday one of Group J at the 2026 World Cup — first with a left-footed strike from outside the box, then by tapping in after a rebound, and the third with his trademark shot from the edge of the area — the No. 10 moved past Mbappé himself and Gerd Müller, and matched the German who lifted the trophy in Brazil 2014.

The all-time World Cup scoring chart now shows them both at the top:

Klose shares the record, having reached 16 goals across the four World Cups he played in. The German scored five goals in 2002, five in 2006, four in 2010, and two in 2014. Behind him, before the start of the match between Argentina and Algeria, was Ronaldo Nazário, with 15 goals spread across 1998, 2002, and 2006, since in 1994 he was part of Brazil’s title-winning squad but did not play any minutes.

Messi, however, needed just one match in this edition to catch the historic German striker born in Poland. In addition, he matched Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring in five different tournaments: he found the net in Germany 2006, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, Qatar 2022, and the current one, in 2026.

Mbappé is another leading candidate to reach that mark. The Frenchman has 14 goals in just three FIFA World Cups: he scored four in Russia 2018, eight in Qatar 2022, and already has two in the United States, Canada, and Mexico after his brace against Senegal.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.