Kylian Mbappe (L) and Lionel Messi© AFP
Argentina superstar Lionel Messi took the lead in FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot race after scoring a brilliant free-kick during the group stage match against Jordan on Sunday. Messi, who came on as a substitute, scored a brilliant free-kick and took his goals tally in the competition to 6. The French duo of Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe are in second position with 4 goals each. While Mbappe has been consistently performing brilliantly, Dembele scored a sensational hat-trick against Norway. Brazil’s Vinicius Junior and Norway star striker Erling Haaland also have 4 goals each in this year’s competition.
 Messi continued to rewrite the FIFA World Cup record books as he broke Brazil legend Rivelino’s long-standing record for the most goals scored from outside the box in tournament history during the Group J match against Jordan in Arlington.
Messi’s stunning free-kick in Argentina’s 3-1 victory over Jordan at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Saturday (Local Time) marked his sixth World Cup goal from outside the penalty area, moving him past Rivelino’s previous record of five.
The strike also took the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s overall World Cup tally to 19 goals, further extending his record as Argentina’s all-time leading scorer at the tournament. He has now scored six goals in this World Cup.
The goal completed another landmark evening for the reigning world champions, who finished the Group J campaign with a perfect record of three wins from three matches.
Messi’s historic scoring streak began with a hat-trick against Algeria before he netted twice against Austria. Rested at the start of Argentina’s final group-stage fixture, the 39-year-old came off the bench in the 60th minute and curled home a trademark free-kick 20 minutes later to become the first men’s player to score in seven successive FIFA World Cup appearances.
The Argentine captain also joined an exclusive list by becoming only the fourth player to score in all three group-stage matches of a single World Cup since the current group-stage format was introduced in 1998, following Cristiano Ronaldo (2018), David Villa (2010) and Fernando Torres (2010).
Argentina also reached another significant milestone by registering their 50th FIFA World Cup victory, becoming only the third nation to achieve the feat after Brazil and Germany.
(With ANI inputs)
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