Lionel Messi’s big FIFA World Cup 2026 record was becoming the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history, with his 17th goal breaking Miroslav Klose’s mark; some reports also say he later extended it to 18 goals.

Quick scoop

  • Messi set the new men’s World Cup scoring record on June 22, 2026.
  • The milestone came against Austria in Argentina’s World Cup match.
  • The previous men’s record belonged to Miroslav Klose with 16 goals.
  • Match reports differed slightly on whether his final total at that point was 17 or 18, but all agree he broke the record.

In plain terms

If you saw people talking about “what record Messi did in FIFA 2026,” they were almost certainly referring to the all-time World Cup goal-scoring record. Some coverage also noted that he was chasing the record for most goals in a single World Cup edition, a mark that had stood at 13 since 1958.

Table

[15] [13][3][15] [6][1]
RecordMessi’s 2026 statusSource
All-time men’s World Cup goalsBroke the record previously held by Miroslav Klose
Total reported by outlets17 or 18 goals, depending on the report timing
Single-edition World Cup goalsChasing Just Fontaine’s 13-goal record
TL;DR: Messi’s main 2026 World Cup record was the all-time scoring mark, and he also remained in the hunt for the single-tournament goal record.