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Art & illustrations

Messi Owns the Number Now. 18. All-Time.

Lionel Messi scored twice vs Austria at MetLife Stadium to surpass Miroslav Klose's 16, finishing with 18 — the most goals in men's FIFA World Cup history.

1 min readChickenpie
Behind the artwork ↓
1930s rubber-hose cartoon illustration of MetLife Stadium at golden hour with an Argentina #10 footballer celebrating, a giant number '18' on the scoreboard, sky-blue-and-white Argentina fans waving flags, and Mr. Chicken in the lower-left corner wearing a tiny sky-blue-and-white scarf.
FROM THE SKETCHBOOK
BEHIND THE ARTWORK
At a glance
CategoryArt & illustrations
PublishedJun 22, 2026
Read time1 min
Covered here
  • Sports
  • World Cup
  • Football

Argentina 2, Austria 0. MetLife Stadium. 35th minute. The number on the board changes from 16 to 17, then to 18. Lionel Messi, 38, sits alone at the top of the all-time FIFA World Cup goal list.

Klose's 16 goals stood for 12 years. Messi ties it on June 17. Messi breaks it on June 22. The brace was surgical: a curling shot off the post, then a calm second-half finish.

Sixth World Cup. 200+ caps. Now 18 World Cup goals. Argentina to the knockouts. Messi to the record book alone.

The man who wasn't supposed to play in this tournament just rewrote the part of the history book nobody thought would move.

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