Lionel Messi has achieved another World Cup milestone by claiming the tournament goals record with now 18 strikes but just how long it will stand remains to be seen.
In hot pursuit is France’s Kylian Mbappé who started his game for a 100th cap later on Monday against Iraq with a tally of 14 and with age on his side.
Messi turns 39 on Wednesday and is playing what should be his last World Cup in a sixth appearance. Mbappé is 27, playing his third tournament and if he plays as long as Messi would have three more.
Twenty years have passed since Messi scored his maiden goal at the 2006 tournament against Serbia, and his brace on Monday in Argentina’s 2-0 over Austria – after missing an early penalty – saw him dethrone German Miroslav Klose who held the record since 2014 with 16 goals across four tournaments.
“Lionel Messi is the best footballer of all time for me! Congratulations, champion!” Klose told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Messi’s team-mate Julián Alvarez said: “There isn’t much to do say – we can all see that he is the best in the world. I am helping the team as much as I can.”
It is remarkable that Messi has scored 12 of his goals after turning 35 in 2022. Seven came at the winter tournament in Qatar that year and he already has five now, having scored a hat-trick last week against Algeria.
Messi has scored all five of Argentina’s goals at the tournament to top the scorers’ charts and could become tournament top scorer for the first time.
“I am very happy to have achieved it all,” Messi said. “I am enjoying the moment. Five goals is wonderful. I should have converted the penalty.”
That honour went to Mbappé last time out with eight goals thanks to a hat-trick in the final which Argentina won on penalties.
Messi finished on seven after a brace in the final, his best showing after one goal in 2006, four in 2014 (all in the group stage) and one in 2018 while he didn’t find the net in 2010.
Messi has now scored in six consecutive World Cup matches, a feat only previously achieved by Frenchman Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho, who did it at one tournament in 1958 and 1970, respectively.
He can make it a record seven games in a row with scoring on Saturday against Jordan.
But he couldn’t say which was his favourite of the 18 goals, telling Telemundo: “I don’t know, to be honest, I can’t remember right now.
“I’m tired, I’m running low on energy, and I’m finding it hard to think, so anyway, I’m just going to enjoy this moment, and I’m looking forward to celebrating with my team-mates.”
Messi achieved the milestone in a record extending 28th World Cup match but in one aspect he could be upstaged by eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese has scored scored at all previous appearances and can become the first to score in six World Cups.
Mbappé still has a long way to go in this respect but with records there to be broken he is a hot candidate for the scoring record, if not now then in 2030.
The France captain needed just 15 World Cup matches to score his 14 goals. He is the only other player apart from Brazil legend Pelé to score in two finals, having netted in 2018 as well when France lifted the trophy.
