Messi Hat-Trick Ties Klose's All-Time World Cup Record

Lionel Messi scored all three goals in Argentina's 3-0 win over Algeria on June 16, 2026, at Kansas City Stadium, taking his career World Cup tally to 16 goals and drawing level with Germany's Miroslav Klose as the highest-scoring men's player in the tournament's history.

The Scoring Record Messi Has Now Matched

Klose set the record of 16 World Cup goals across four tournaments between 2002 and 2014. It has stood for twelve years. On the same day Messi reached it, France's Kylian Mbappé had briefly moved to 14 goals with a double against Senegal earlier in the day, matching Gerd Müller but still two short of where Messi finished the evening.

Messi entered the Algeria match with 13 career World Cup goals. His first goal on Tuesday moved him level with Mbappé and Müller. The second took him past Brazil's Ronaldo, who scored 15 across four tournaments. The third drew him even with Klose. He has now scored 10 of his 16 World Cup goals since turning 35, more than the complete career tallies of Diego Maradona, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, or Thierry Henry.

The chart below shows how the top five men's World Cup scorers stand after June 16, 2026.

How the Three Goals Were Scored

Messi opened the scoring in the 16th minute. Rodrigo De Paul played a quick pass after a free-kick was taken rapidly, finding Messi on the half-turn. He curled a strike from distance past Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane — son of France's Zinedine Zidane — to make it 1-0.

A controversial moment arrived in the 32nd minute when Messi raked his studs down the calf of Algeria's Aïssa Mandi while battling for the ball. Referee Szymon Marciniak awarded a foul but did not issue a card, and VAR did not intervene. Some analysts noted the incident could have merited a straight red card under IFAB rules for endangering an opponent's safety, though no official review was announced.

The second goal came in the 60th minute when Alexis Mac Allister's shot was spilled by Zidane. Messi reacted first and steered the rebound in with his right foot. He completed the hat-trick in the 76th minute with a low, bending finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty box — his 61st career hat-trick and his first in a World Cup match. Messi was substituted off for Nico Paz three minutes later to a standing ovation. Coach Lionel Scaloni said afterward that he was "lost for words" to describe what Messi has produced over 20 years. "He inspires everyone who watches him play," Scaloni told reporters.

The four milestone figures from the match are shown below.

A Twenty-Year Arc Across Six Tournaments

The timing carried a particular symmetry. Tuesday, June 16, 2026, was exactly 20 years to the day after Messi made his World Cup debut as a substitute against Serbia and Montenegro on June 16, 2006, scoring his first tournament goal in that match. He was 18 then. He turned 39 in June 2026.

The match against Algeria was his 26th World Cup appearance, spread across tournaments in Germany, South Africa, Brazil, Russia, Qatar, and now the United States, Canada, and Mexico. He became the first men's player in history to feature in six different editions of the tournament. The previous record of five was shared by several players, including Mexico's Antonio Carbajal and Germany's Lothar Matthäus.

Messi told reporters afterward: "What I'm living through now is the cherry on top. I'm very happy and grateful for this wonderful group."

Argentina next plays Austria on Monday, June 22. Scaloni said the team would take the tournament "one game at a time" but that he hoped to secure knockout-stage qualification in that match. The timeline below traces Messi's six World Cup tournaments from debut to record.