Lionel Messi improves his historic record by raising his goal count in World Cups to 20

Argentine star footballer Lionel Messi took the stage once again with his national team, carrying the goal record in World Cup history further. With his performance in the 2026 World Cup, Messi, who was one of the most striking names of the tournament, both solidified his title as the top scorer of the tournament and signed a first by scoring in consecutive matches. The star football player of Argentina, which faced Cape Verde after the group stage, managed to put his team ahead with the goal he found in the early minutes of the match and opened a new page in his career with this important goal.

After the end of the league-style group stage, Argentina and Cape Verde faced each other in the golden round (round of 16) match. In the match played between the South American representative and the African representative, which witnessed a great struggle, it was Lionel Messi who disrupted the score before the half-time break. Controlling the ball well in the pass started by his teammate Lisandro Martínez from his own half in the 27th minute of the match, Messi made a cool shot with the inside of the same foot after a quick softening move with his left foot and sent the ball into the nets, putting his team 1-0 ahead.

With this goal, Lionel Messi officially became the top scorer in World Cup history, reaching his 20th goal by passing the golden barrier. The star footballer had started the tournament with a hat-trick in the match against Algeria and reached the 16-goal record of German legend Miroslav Klose. Then, shaking the Austrian nets twice and reaching 18 goals, Messi later contributed to the score against Jordan, passing the 19-goal barrier, and achieved all these successes in the group stage. The goal he scored in the round of 16 against Cape Verde took him to 20 as the top scorer in history.

However, Messi's record is under serious threat by French star Kylian Mbappé, who is performing quite ambitiously in the tournament. Mbappé, one of the most offensive strikers of his era, has left Klose's record behind and is in a race with Messi. Finding 6 goals in the parts of the tournament played so far and raising his total World Cup goal count to 18, the French star puts the Argentine footballer's record in danger, and the goal king race is witnessing great excitement.

In addition to these, Lionel Messi also holds the record for scoring in the most consecutive matches in World Cup history. Messi, who previously equaled the legendary footballer Just Fontaine's 6-match series record in the match against Jordan, placed in the 7th place in that match. From the moment he shook the nets against Cape Verde, the Argentine star increased this series to 8 matches, proving once again that he is the man of goal records in the tournament. With this performance, he both contributed to his team's journey in the tournament and continued to write his name in golden letters in football history.