Messi Needs 3 Goals to Match Klose at Soccer World Cup 2026

Lionel Messi enters soccer world cup 2026 with 13 career World Cup goals, and he needs three more to match Miroslav Klose’s record of 16. The Argentina captain is already the closest active scorer in the chase, with the tournament now carrying a direct record pursuit for one of the sport’s most watched players.

Messi’s 13-goal chase

Messi has scored across four World Cup tournaments: 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022. His total reached 13 by the end of the 2022 tournament, leaving him three short of Klose’s mark, which was set across the 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 editions.

That gap is small, but the route is narrow. Argentina was drawn into Group J with Algeria, Austria and Jordan for the 2026 World Cup, so every group-stage finish matters before any knockout-round scoring chance arrives. Messi’s position is straightforward: three goals ties the record, and anything beyond that gives him the top spot alone.

Ronaldo, Mbappe and Kane

Cristiano Ronaldo stands on eight World Cup goals across five tournaments and would equal Eusebio’s Portugal record of nine with one goal in 2026. Kylian Mbappe has 12 World Cup goals from the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, while Harry Kane has eight from those same two editions.

Those totals place Messi in the lead among the names in this race, but the chase is not isolated. Ronaldo has reached five World Cup tournaments, while Mbappe and Kane already have multiple scoring runs behind them, giving the record list a different shape depending on who gets the next opening first.

Argentina and Scaloni

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said the first reports on Messi’s injury are “not that bad.” That leaves the record chase tied to his fitness as much as to the draw, because the team’s Group J path comes before the knockout rounds where the scoring total can move fastest.

Messi’s World Cup line already puts him ahead of the active names listed here, but Klose’s 16 still sits out front. For Argentina, the immediate question is not whether the chase exists; it is how many chances Messi gets to close a three-goal gap while the tournament is still in front of him.