Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency: Argentina captain Lionel Messi has created another unique feat by scoring in the last 32 matches of the current World Cup against Cape Verde. With this goal, his total number of goals in the World Cup stands at 20, which is the highest in the history of the tournament. At the same time, he has also set a rare record of scoring in eight consecutive World Cup matches. Thanks to this goal, Messi has also become the oldest South American footballer to score in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
By scoring at the age of 39 years and 9 days, he broke the record of Uruguayan Obdulio Varela. Varela achieved this feat at the age of 36 in the 1954 World Cup. This is Messi's seventh goal in the current World Cup. As a result, he has moved further ahead in the list of all-time World Cup top scorers. His current number of goals is 20. In second place is France's Kylian Mbappe with 18 goals and Germany's Miroslav Klose with 16 goals. All-time World Cup top scorer
Lionel Messi (Argentina) — 20 goals (30 matches)
Kylian Mbappe (France) — 18 goals (18 matches)
Miroslav Klose (Germany) — 16 goals (24 matches)
Ronaldo Nazario (Brazil) — 15 goals (19 matches)
Gard Muller (Germany) — 14 goals (13 matches)
Just Fontaine (France) — 13 goals (6 matches)
Pele (Brazil) — 12 goals (14 matches) Messi scored a hat-trick against Algeria in the first match of the tournament. He then scored against Austria and Jordan.
The Argentine captain continued his excellent goal-scoring streak in the tournament by scoring against Cape Verde. Messi's journey of scoring goals in eight consecutive World Cup matches began in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup against Australia. He then scored against the Netherlands, Croatia and France. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner added a new chapter in World Cup history by scoring against Algeria, Austria, Jordan and most recently Cape Verde in the 2026 World Cup.