Lionel Messi will celebrate his 39th birthday in just over a week. Despite having an illustrious career, he still aims for more. His latest pursuit? A hat trick that brought him a share of a historic World Cup goals record.
In today’s match, Messi was trailing France’s Kylian Mbappé in the all-time World Cup goal rankings. Earlier, Mbappé, a Real Madrid star, scored twice against Senegal. Messi responded by scoring three goals against Algeria, helping his team, the reigning champions, start the tournament successfully.
The question now is whether Messi has broken the all-time World Cup goal record. The answer is that he is currently tied.
Germany’s Miroslav Klose held the record with 16 goals, set during the 2014 World Cup. Klose scored in the semifinals and then defeated Argentina and Messi in the final.
Twelve years after that victory, Messi has matched Klose’s record. The World Cup now turns into a competition between Messi and Mbappé, with both having opportunities to increase their goal tally throughout the tournament in North America.
Messi has the chance to set a new record with his 17th goal in an upcoming match against Austria, two days before his birthday. Mbappé, with 14 goals, also seeks to challenge this record as he faces off against Iraq. Both players aim to etch their names in World Cup history this summer.
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