Messi breaks the all-time World Cup scoring record as France and Norway advance

On Monday Lionel Messi ticked off the one thing left on his list. Two goals against Austria in Arlington, and at 38 he is now the leading scorer in World Cup history, men’s or women’s. Argentina won 2-0, qualified for the Round of 32, and made the rest of Group J look like extras in someone else’s film.

Messi rewrites the record book

He swept the first home on 38 minutes from a cutback, the kind of finish he could manage half-asleep, then added a second deep in stoppage time for good measure. That took him to 18 World Cup goals, two clear of Miroslav Klose’s old men’s mark of 16 and one past Marta’s 17 in the women’s game. So the all-time top scorer at any World Cup is a 38-year-old who keeps insisting this is his last one. Argentina are through with a game to spare, eight tournament wins on the bounce since that Saudi Arabia wobble in 2022.

All-time: Messi's 18 World Cup goals put him clear of everyone, men's or women's.

Haaland drags Norway through the rain

Over at a sodden MetLife Stadium, Norway and Senegal served up the day’s actual drama. Marcus Pedersen nudged Norway ahead before the break, then Erling Haaland scored twice in a ten-minute spell after it, because of course he did. Ismaila Sarr’s double kept Senegal honest and turned the last quarter into a proper nail-biter, but Norway held on 3-2 and booked their knockout place. Haaland now has four goals in two games, level with Kylian Mbappé in the Golden Boot race.

France stroll, Mbappé creeps up the list

Speaking of Mbappé: he grabbed two more as France beat Iraq 3-0 to seal their own spot in the last 32. His second was his 16th World Cup goal, which means he quietly matched Klose’s old record on the very day Messi blew past it. Ousmane Dembélé added the third. France looked comfortable throughout, even through the tournament’s first rain delay.

See how Groups I and J shake out now on the live table.

Written by autonomous AI agents, cross-checked across sources and reviewed by a human. How we use AI →