(foto: Unsplash.com)
Lionel Messi's hat-trick against Algeria moved him level with Miroslav Klose at the top of the all-time World Cup scoring chart, while Kylian Mbappé continues his rapid climb.
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Lionel Messi has added another historic achievement to his extraordinary career.
The Argentine superstar scored a hat-trick in his opening match of the 2026 World Cup and climbed to the top of the all-time World Cup scoring rankings, where he now shares first place with former Germany striker Miroslav Klose.
Both players currently stand on 16 goals, but Messi appears almost certain to move ahead before the tournament ends.
The 39-year-old has already played one match at this World Cup and, even in the worst-case scenario, still has several opportunities to become the outright record holder. Given Argentina's ambitions and Messi's form, few would bet against him adding more goals in North America.
What makes the achievement even more impressive is how heavily Messi has contributed in recent tournaments.
Of his 16 World Cup goals, 10 have come in the last two editions of the competition. He scored seven times during Argentina's triumphant campaign in Qatar and has already added three more at the current tournament.
Yet while Messi is chasing history, another superstar is rapidly approaching from behind.
Kylian Mbappé now sits on 14 World Cup goals and has already climbed into fourth place on the all-time list. Unlike Messi, however, the French forward still has age on his side.
At 27, Mbappé could realistically appear in multiple World Cups after this one, making him the strongest candidate to eventually establish a record that may stand for decades.
The Frenchman has already produced numbers that place him alongside some of the greatest goalscorers the tournament has ever seen, and he is level with legendary German striker Gerd Müller.
The battle between Messi's present and Mbappé's future has suddenly become one of the most fascinating storylines of the tournament.
All-time World Cup top scorers
16 – Lionel Messi
16 – Miroslav Klose
15 – Ronaldo
14 – Kylian Mbappé
14 – Gerd Müller
13 – Just Fontaine
12 – Pelé
11 – Sándor Kocsis
11 – Jürgen Klinsmann
10 – Gabriel Batistuta, Gary Lineker, Thomas Müller, Helmut Rahn, Teófilo Cubillas, Grzegorz Lato, Harry Kane
For now, Messi and Klose share the throne. The question is not whether Messi will move into first place alone, but how long he can keep Mbappé from eventually taking it away.