Lionel Messi has etched his name alone at the summit of World Cup goal scorers, netting his record-breaking 17th World Cup goal against Austria. This milestone pushes the Argentina captain ahead of Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who previously held the record.
Despite an early setback when Messi missed a penalty in the match against Austria—a rare miss for the veteran forward—he quickly redeemed himself by scoring minutes later to claim the outright scoring lead in World Cup history.
Just shy of turning 39, Messi continued his remarkable form following his impressive hat-trick in Argentina’s opening game against Algeria, where his three goals secured a 3-0 victory to kick off the defending champions’ campaign.
Tracking the All-Time World Cup Scorers
Messi’s new record of 17 goals surpasses Miroslav Klose, who scored 16 goals over 24 World Cup appearances. Klose set the previous record during Germany’s victorious 2014 campaign.
Before Klose, the record was held by Brazilian legend Ronaldo, who found the net 15 times in 19 World Cup matches. Not far behind are Germany great Gerd Müller and France’s Kylian Mbappé, both with 14 goals, the latter still actively adding to his tally at just 27 years old.
Here is the current leaderboard for the highest goal scorers in World Cup history:
- Lionel Messi, Argentina – 17 goals
- Miroslav Klose, Germany – 16 goals
- Ronaldo, Brazil – 15 goals
- Gerd Müller, Germany – 14 goals
- Kylian Mbappé, France – 14 goals