Lionel Messi equals all-time World Cup goals in Kansas City, USA; joint leader at 16 goals

Lionel Messi cites Rafael Nadal inspiration after equalling all-time FIFA World Cup goalscoring record

Twenty years to the day since his World Cup debut, the Argentine expressed his admiration for the Spanish tennis legend after a historic night.

On the cusp of his 39th birthday, Lionel Messi continues to light up the FIFA men’s World Cup stage .

The Olympic football gold medallist opened the 2026 tournament with an astounding performance in Kansas City, USA, netting his first World Cup hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win against Algeria on Tuesday (16 June).

Those three goals mean Messi is now the joint all-time leading tournament goalscorer, tying Miroslav Klose’s 16-goal tally and is now chasing the outright record in North America.

Twenty years to the day since his World Cup debut, the Argentine continues to inspire and be inspired, expressing his admiration for Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal after another record-breaking outing on the world stage.

“We are currently watching the Rafa Nadal series and I really relate to him,” Messi said to the media in Spanish after the match (via DAZN ), referring to the four-part Netflix documentary on the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

“I really like to play football, it is my passion since I was a child and when I am feeling good, I give my all. I think that we are very similar in that sense: I always want to give my all and feel good. I enjoy that and while I can and can do so, we will be here.”

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Messi, Neymar and Salah are among the players featuring at football’s biggest international event who previously competed at the Olympic Games.

Messi and Nadal share plenty in common in their sporting trajectories: they each won their first major honour in 2005, the Spanish La Liga title for Messi and the first of Nadal’s 14 Roland-Garros trophies.

Both athletes also became Olympic champions at Beijing 2008, before the Spaniard clinched a second Olympic gold six years later in the men’s doubles event.

Messi will aim to become the greatest World Cup goalscorer of all time when defending champions Argentina take on Austria in their second Group J game on Monday (22 June).

The eight-time Ballon D’Or winner is competing with Kylian Mbappé for the accolade, after the 27-year-old became France’s all-time leading scorer with his 14 th World Cup goal and 58th across all competitions.

France next play on the same day as Argentina, taking on Iraq in Group I.

Picture by 2026 Getty Images

By Andrés Aragón Nischal Schwager-Patel