He's 39, it's his 6th World Cup, and he has scored more men's World Cup goals than anyone in history — meet Messi 2026

Lionel Messi began the 2026 FIFA World Cup at 38 and turned 39 during the tournament. In what is widely expected to be his final World Cup, the Argentina captain has continued rewriting the competition's record books.

Messi now has 21 career FIFA World Cup goals — more than any player in men's World Cup history. He has surpassed Miroslav Klose's previous record of 16 and moved clear at the top of the competition's all-time scoring list.

Messi has scored eight goals at the 2026 World Cup alone as of July 9.

Against Algeria in the group stage, Messi scored the first World Cup hat-trick of his career.

He is 39 years old — and incredibly, the hat-trick came exactly 20 years to the day after his World Cup debut against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006.

Messi became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in men's World Cup history, breaking the record previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Nearly two decades after his World Cup debut, Messi is still producing record-breaking performances on football's biggest stage.

Messi has played at six World Cups but has never won the Golden Boot.

In Qatar 2022, Kylian Mbappé finished with eight goals, one ahead of Messi's seven.

At World Cup 2026, Messi leads the Golden Boot race with eight goals as of July 9. For the first time in his legendary World Cup career, the tournament's top-scorer award could finally be his.