Written By | Sports Desk
Lionel Messi is tied for the most goals in men's World Cup history
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Lionel Messi is tied for the most goals in men's World Cup history. As Argentina faces Austria in Dallas, the 38-year-old is chasing a record while quietly managing a family crisis back home.
Dallas
Lionel Messi needs one goal. That is all that stands between him and sole possession of the most storied individual record in men's World Cup history: most career goals at the tournament. He is currently tied with Germany's Miroslav Klose at 16, a mark that has stood unchallenged since 2014. On Monday, in front of a sold-out crowd at Dallas Stadium, Messi and Argentina face Austria in a Group J match that will decide far more than just goal tallies — and for once, the 38-year-old captain says the number chasing him hardest isn't on a scoreboard.
Sixteen, and Counting Toward Something Bigger
Messi tied Klose's record in the most Messi way possible: with a hat trick. His three goals in Argentina's 3-0 win over Algeria on June 18 also pushed him past Pelé's all-time mark for goal contributions in a men's World Cup — Messi now has 24, sixteen goals and eight assists, compared to Pelé's 21. He became, at 38 years and 357 days, the oldest player ever to score a World Cup hat trick, eclipsing the previous record held by Cristiano Ronaldo by more than five years. If he scores again against Austria, he'll join an exclusive club: only two other players in tournament history have found the net in six consecutive World Cup games.
The Tears Weren't About Football
What stood out from that night in Algeria, though, wasn't the math. It was Messi's face. Cameras caught him in tears after his opening goal, an uncharacteristic display from a player who has built a reputation on icy composure even at his most emotional. Reporters expected him to credit the magnitude of the chase. He didn't.
“It was something completely unrelated to football. I went through some difficult days, but I'm grateful to the entire delegation and my teammates because they were always by my side, giving me a lot of strength to help me get through it.” — Lionel Messi
Days later, his family confirmed why: Messi's father and longtime manager, Jorge, 68, is dealing with a health issue. In a statement sent to media, the family said he “is currently under medical supervision, recovering, and progressing favorably within his current condition,” without disclosing further details. Jorge Messi has been a fixture in his son's career since childhood — the man who moved the family from Rosario to Barcelona so an eight-year-old Lionel could get growth-hormone treatment the family couldn't afford at home, and who has overseen his business affairs for two decades since. For a player whose entire public mythology has been built around stoicism, the image of him breaking down mid-tournament, then explaining it away as “completely unrelated to football,” landed as a rare crack in the armor — and a reminder that even history-chasing superstars are, underneath the boots, sons worried about their dads.
What's at Stake on the Pitch
The football stakes are real too. Both Argentina and Austria arrive at Dallas Stadium with three points from their openers, meaning Monday's winner moves a significant step toward a place in the knockout rounds, while the loser is pushed toward a must-win finale in the group's last matchday. Argentina is missing right-back Gonzalo Montiel to a hamstring issue, with Nahuel Molina expected to start in his place; Austria has its own absence at the same position, with Stefan Posch ruled out by a broken jaw. Opta's pre-match simulations give Argentina a 61.1% win probability, with most bookmakers pricing Lionel Scaloni's side as clear favorites — Argentina at 8/13, the draw at 3/1, and Austria as the outsider at 11/2.
A Sixth World Cup, Possibly a Last One
This is Messi's sixth World Cup, a span of appearances that began as a 19-year-old prodigy in Germany in 2006 and now closes in on a fortieth-birthday farewell. Analysts have spent the tournament marveling at how he's sustained this level. Former Canadian international and FOX Sports analyst Kaylyn Kyle, breaking down his Algeria performance, called it proof that the game has slowed down for him in a way it hasn't for almost anyone else at this age — he isn't relying on speed anymore, he's relying on seeing the picture two passes before everyone else. It's a fitting epitaph-in-progress for a player who has spent two decades rewriting what's possible for an attacking footballer, and who now, improbably, is doing some of his best World Cup scoring in his late thirties.
What This Means for You
You don't need to be a soccer obsessive to find this riveting. Messi's chase is one of those rare sports stories that transcends the sport itself — a 38-year-old, playing in the most-watched event on the planet, one swing of his left foot from outright sporting immortality, while privately managing the kind of family worry that has nothing to do with trophies. If you're looking for a reason to tune into the World Cup this week, Monday's Argentina-Austria match at noon local time (5 p.m. GMT) from Dallas Stadium, broadcast on Fox, FS1, Peacock and Telemundo, is it. Win or lose, record or no record, it's must-watch television.
Conclusion
Records, in the end, are just numbers attached to a name. What's made Messi's pursuit of this one so compelling is everything happening just outside the frame of the goal celebrations — an aging legend, a worried son, and a number that, for at least one more night, might matter less to him than a phone call home. Dallas will find out Monday whether he gets both.
