In the group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026, three players, including Lionel Messi, have scored hat-tricks. Messi has scored 19 goals in World Cup history, maintaining his lead as the highest goal scorer and becoming the first player to score in seven consecutive matches. Jonathan David from Canada and Ousmane Dembélé from France also recorded hat-tricks during the group stage.
June 28, Kathmandu – During the group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi, alongside two other players, achieved hat-tricks. The World Cup, taking place across three North American nations – the United States, Mexico, and Canada – saw all group stage matches conclude by Monday morning. The players with hat-tricks in the group phase include Messi, Jonathan David of Canada, and Ousmane Dembélé of France. Messi made headlines in the opening Group G match by scoring a hat-trick against Algeria, matching Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals.
Following that, Messi scored two goals against Austria, propelling him to become the top World Cup goal scorer. In his third match against Jordan, Messi came off the bench in the second half to score again. With six goals so far in this World Cup, Messi stands alone as the leading scorer and remains a strong contender for the Golden Boot. Although Messi has won the Golden Ball award twice as the tournament’s best player, he has yet to secure the Golden Boot trophy.
By scoring against Jordan, Messi increased his World Cup goal tally to 19, breaking another record. He became the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches. Having scored in the last four games of the 2022 tournament, Messi continued his streak by netting goals in all three group matches this year. In the group stage, Jonathan David scored a hat-trick against Qatar, while Ousmane Dembélé scored three goals against Norway. Following Messi as top scorers are France’s captain Kylian Mbappé, Dembélé, Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior, and Norway’s Erling Haaland, each with four goals.
