Giant Lionel Messi statue unveiled in Argentina
The statue depicts Lionel Messi wearing an Argentina national team jersey and lifting the World Cup.
Lionel Messi currently stands alone as the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.
The Argentina legend scored his 17th and 18th World Cup goals against Austria on Monday, June 22nd. The first goal came in the 38th minute and broke Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s men’s World Cup record of 16 goals. Messi made history by receiving a pass from the left, running into the box and shooting gracefully over the goalkeeper’s head.
He then scored again just before the whistle to give Argentina a 2-0 victory, and he didn’t give up until the ball wavered near the goal line and went past the keeper. With this goal, he surpassed Brazil’s Marta, who held the World Cup goalscoring record with 17 goals in six tournaments.
Messi entered the 2026 World Cup with a total of 13 goals, but after scoring a hat-trick in Argentina’s opening game against Algeria on June 17, that number jumped to 16.
Messi looked set to break the record when he went to the penalty kick line 12 minutes into Monday’s match against Austria, but shockingly he went wide.
French star Kylian Mbappé also makes the list after scoring twice against Senegal, taking his total to 14 World Cup goals. The 27-year-old forward will aim to add to that total when France take on Iraq later on Monday.
Mbappe is nearly 12 years younger than Messi, so he has a chance to eventually overtake the Argentine legend.
See Messi’s new Adidas Argentina jersey
Photos of Messi’s record-breaking goal
Messi’s goal from a different angle
Most goals in men’s World Cup history
- 17 – Lionel Messi, Argentina
- 16 – Miroslav Klose, Germany
- 15 – Ronaldo, Brazil
- 14 – Gerd Müller, West Germany
- 14 – Kylian Mbappé, France
- 13 – Juste Fontaine, France
- 12 – Pele, Brazil
- 11 – Sandor Kocsis, Hungary
- 11 – Jurgen Klinsmann, West Germany and Germany
- 10 – Helmut Rahn, West Germany
- 10 – Gary Lineker, England
- 10 – Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina
- 10 – Teofilo Cubillas, Peru
- 10 – Thomas Müller, Germany
- 10 – Gzergor Lato, Poland
