On Tuesday, June 16, 2026, Lionel Messi sealed Argentina’s victory in the 23rd edition of the World Cup with a hat trick that elevates him to 16 as the top scorer in all the cups alongside German Miroslav Klose.
Eight days after turning 39, the captain of the Albiceleste entered the Kansas City stadium field to play in the sixth World Cup of his career, and with his hat trick he completed 913 goals in his career, 200 games with the national team and drew a line of exactly 20 years between his first and last goal in this tournament.
The first goal was scored in Germany on June 16, 2006 against the Serbian team.
The ten of the Argentine team arrived at the 2026 World Cup on the same line as the 13 goals scored by Just Fontaine, a record achieved by the legendary French player in a single tournament.
With his exhibition on June 16, 2026, he surpassed the 14 goals of the German Gerd Müller and the 15 of the Brazilian Ronaldo Luiz Nazario de Lima.
On the same day, Frenchman Kylian Mbappé contributed a double to France’s 3-1 victory over Senegal and went from the 12 that Pelé also scored to Müller’s 14.
Messi: “I didn’t imagine this”
After scoring the first goal, in the 17th minute, exactly 20 years after having debuted in a World Cup, the Argentine genius hit goalkeeper Zidane, from Algeria, with a left foot, and then shed a few tears after celebrating with his teammates.
Asked about that emotion that invaded him after the first goal, he explained: “It was a matter totally unrelated to sports, I spent some difficult, complicated days. Grateful to the entire delegation, to my teammates, because as they were always by my side, they gave me a lot of strength to be well.”
“This is to enjoy with my family and this is for the people. Thanks to my teammates… we are very happy and I will enjoy it with the locker room that is united and very strong,” Messi said in statements to television after finishing the match.
Messi assured that he could not imagine “anything he had to live through”, in addition to thanking the “beautiful group” that he leads as captain in his sixth World Cup.
“I didn’t imagine this or anything I had to live through. Everything I’m experiencing is yapa (good fortune). I was lucky enough to live more than I could have dreamed of on an individual and group level. Today I’m enjoying a beautiful group,” the Albiceleste number 10 told reporters.
Messi received the player of the match award in the first game of Group J after the 3-0 against Algeria, a team he defined as “dynamic, intense.”
“It is important to win the first game and doing it this way is better. We got ahead in the first half and in the second we made an important difference.”
The Argentine striker turned 20 years since his first World Cup appearance in 2006 and reached 200 games in the light blue and white uniform.
