Lionel Messi Scores 16th FIFA World Cup Goal: List Of Top Scorers In Tournament's History

Lionel Messi scored his first-ever FIFA World Cup hat-trick as the reigning champions Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 on Tuesday to begin their title defence in style. In the process, Messi also equalled former Germany striker Miroslav Klose's all-time record for goals at World Cups. Messi netted a spectacular opener from distance in Kansas City, then poked home from close range before completing his maiden World Cup hat-trick to give him a total of 16 goals. Before the start of the World Cup, Klose backed Messi to break his record, suggesting that the increased number of matches is going to give the Argentine a bigger opportunity to break his record. Little did his know that his tally will be matched in the first match itself. 

List Of Top Scorers In FIFA World Cup History:

1. Miroslav Klose (Germany) - 16 goals (24 matches)
2. Lionel Messi (Argentina) - 16 goals (27 matches)
3. Ronaldo (Brazil) - 15 goals (19 matches)
4. Gerd Muller (West Germany) - 14 goals (13 matches)
5. Just Fontaine (France) - 13 goals (6 matches)
6. Pele (Brazil) - 12 goals (14 matches)
7. Kylian Mbappe (France) - 12 goals (14 matches)
8. Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) - 11 goals (5 matches)
9. Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) - 11 goals (17 matches)
10. Helmut Rahn (West Germany) - 10 goals (10 matches)
11. Gary Lineker (England) - 10 goals (12 matches)
12. Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina) - 10 goals (12 matches)
13. Teofilo Cubillas (Peru) - 10 goals (13 matches)
14. Thomas Muller (Germany) - 10 goals (19 matches)
15. Grzegorz Lato (Poland) - 10 goals (20 matches)

Messi scored his first goal in the opening minutes off a nifty feed from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, the second early in the second half, and the third moments before subbing out to a standing ovation from a heavily pro-Argentina crowd. The goals came 20 years to the day that Messi made his World Cup debut for Argentina in a match against Serbia and Montenegro -- he scored in that one, too -- and gave him 16 for his career, putting him in a tie with Germany's Miroslav Klose for the career record.

They also helped Argentina get off to a better start than the last World Cup. Four years ago in Qatar, La Albiceleste were beaten by Saudi Arabia in their opening match, only to rally from there to win their third world title. Messi, who turns 39 next week, nearly had two other goals against Algeria, never once looking like the mild hamstring injury that worried fans in the run-up to the tournament was a problem.

One found the back of the net but was called back because he was ever-so-slightly offside, and another strike in the second half just cleared the crossbar. He was a pest on defense, too, helping Algeria lock down the overmatched Les Fennecs.

Their best chance came in the opening minutes, when Fares Chaibi's would-be goal was taken away by a VAR review that showed he also was offside. Messi scored moments later, and the rest of the night belonged to him and Argentina.

With AP Inputs

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Argentina Algeria Messi 2026 FIFA World Cup Miroslav Klose Football