Lionel Messi has etched his name into World Cup history as the tournament's greatest goalscorer of all time. The Argentine captain achieved this feat on Monday with a brace against Austria.
Messi now has 18 goals across six World Cup campaigns. He surpassed Miroslav Klose's previous record of 16 goals with this latest performance.
Just weeks earlier, the 38-year-old had matched Klose's tally. That came after he netted a hat-trick in Argentina's opening match against Algeria at the 2026 tournament.
His two goals on Monday pushed him clear of the German legend. Messi has now played 28 World Cup matches in total.
Klose remains second on the all-time list with his 16 goals. He achieved this across four World Cup tournaments between 2002 and 2014.
Brazil's Ronaldo sits third with 15 goals. Gerd Müller of West Germany has 14, matching France's Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe, at just 27 years old, has already accumulated 14 goals in three tournaments. He scored 4 in 2018, then 8 in 2022, and has added 2 so far this year.
Just Fontaine holds the record for most goals in a single tournament. The Frenchman scored 13 goals in 1958 alone, appearing in just one World Cup.
Brazil's Pelé follows with 12 goals across four tournaments. Jürgen Klinsmann and Hungary's Sándor Kocsis both finished their careers with 11 World Cup goals.
Gabriel Batistuta rounded out the top ten with 10 goals for Argentina. England's Harry Kane and Peru's Teófilo Cubillas also reached the 10-goal mark.
