Lionel Messi claimed his document “doesn’t imply something” after the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner began the World Cup 2026 with all three objectives in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria to make sure no participant has scored extra objectives on the finals than the 38-year-old.
Albiceleste captain Messi matched Germany legend Miroslav Klose’s document 16 objectives on the World Cup together with his first hat-trick on the match on a day he referred to as “troublesome and sophisticated” due to “a matter completely separate from sport”.
“It’s an honour to be there, for what it means, to be subsequent to Klose,” mentioned Messi, namechecking Brazilian nice Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe, whose two objectives in France’s 3-1 win over Senegal hours earlier included an astonishing strike from distance.
“Though it’s a supply of delight to have the ability to compete with all of them, it doesn’t imply something to me.”
Klose, Messi, Ronaldo: Who has scored probably the most World Cup objectives?
Klose scored 16 objectives throughout 4 successive finals between 2002 and 2014, lifting the trophy on the fourth of these tournaments.
Messi has appeared at every of the final 5 tournaments and received the title in 2022. Brazil icon Ronaldo is third on the record with 15 objectives, going to every version between 1994 and 2006.
“Ronaldo can be there, however I feel it doesn’t imply something,” reiterated Messi. “Mbappe additionally scored two at present.
“In the long run, it’s statistics and nothing else. Ronaldo, from what I noticed, was one of many best and he’s not first – that’s, he’s not alone by way of statistics.”
Listed below are the 9 gamers to have scored greater than 10 objectives on the World Cup. Among the many gamers concerned in 2026, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazil’s Neymar and England’s Harry Kane are every on eight.
| Participant | Workforce | Objectives | Matches |
| Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 | 24 |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 16 | 27 |
| Ronaldo | Brazil | 15 | 19 |
| Gerd Muller | West Germany | 14 | 13 |
| Kylian Mbappe | France | 14 | 15 |
| Simply Fontaine | France | 13 | 6 |
| Pele | Brazil | 12 | 14 |
| Jurgen Klinsmann | West Germany/Germany | 11 | 17 |
| Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 5 |
World Cup 2026: Messi cries in Argentina vs Algeria
Argentina’s document scorer was unusually emotional after scoring the Seventeenth-minute opener, which he added to with two second-half objectives.
“I had a troublesome and sophisticated day however I’m grateful to the entire delegation, to all my teammates, as a result of they’ve all the time been there for me, giving me a number of power to do nicely,” Messi mentioned after explaining that his response had not been football-related.
“I’ve been fortunate to have achieved all of the desires I may have achieved, individually and with a bunch. I’m having fun with being a part of an exquisite group, of feeling good, fortunately, to have the ability to take pleasure in it on the pitch as I’ve all the time favored it.”
World Cup 2026: Why Argentina are usually not ‘complacent’
“So long as Leo needs, he would be the greatest,” mentioned Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni. “He’s been doing it each recreation for 20 years.
“It’s thrilling to observe for anybody who loves soccer. What Leo conveys is spectacular; it’s arduous to clarify. His teammates see him as a god and in addition as a child from the neighborhood.
“For us, the workforce nonetheless comes first. Once we’ve had difficulties, we’ve come out on prime. We’re a tenacious workforce and we all know that when we now have the ball we will do injury.
“We’re not going to get complacent; it strengthens us to know that if we do issues proper and work like we [did against Algeria], we’ll make it arduous for groups to beat us.
“We make the gamers perceive that anybody can beat us if we don’t work nicely, and so they perceive that.”
Lionel Messi subsequent match at FIFA World Cup 2026
Messi’s subsequent look on the World Cup is about to be in Argentina’s second recreation of the match in opposition to Austria in Dallas on June 22 at 18:00 BST.
| Date | Match | Consequence | Stage | Time (BST) | ET | PT | Channel |
| June 17 | Algeria | 3-0 | Group | 02:00 | 21:00 | 18:00 | ITV |
| June 22 | Austria | Group | 18:00 | 13:00 | 10:00 | BBC | |
| June 28 | Jordan | Group | 03:00 | 22:00 | 19:00 | BBC |
Lionel Messi World Cup fixtures: Knockout stage, full bracket
Ought to Argentina justify their standing as favourites to win their group, they are going to face the runners-up from Group H within the final 32. Messi’s workforce will meet the winners of that part if they arrive second.
That would produce a tricky-looking tie in opposition to Cape Verde – who’ve already held Spain – a Saudi Arabia facet who beat Argentina on the final version of the finals or La Roja, the reigning European champions.
Argentina will face one of many group winners in the event that they end among the many best-performing third-placed groups within the group stage. You possibly can see the total bracket on FIFA’s site.
