Messi makes World Cup history as all-time leading goalscorer

On the twenty-second of June, 2026, in Arlington, Texas, Lionel Messi stepped beyond the boundary of what any footballer had achieved before him, becoming the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer during Argentina's group stage match against Austria. It was the kind of record that does not arrive with fanfare but with the quiet accumulation of years — tournament after tournament, goal after goal — until history simply yields. Around him, the Golden Boot race was already alive with the hunger of a new generation, as Mbappé and Haaland each scored twice on the same day, reminding the world tha