Messi equals Klose's World Cup record as Kane and Mbappe chase history

Lionel Messi stepped up to take Argentina's opening penalty against Algeria, the ball nestled in the net, and with that, football history was rewritten. The 2022 World Cup winner's stunning hat-trick in a 3-0 win moved him level with Germany's Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals – a record that had stood since 2014. Messi required 27 games, three more than Klose, but the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner will not mind. Lurking close behind on 14 is France captain Kylian Mbappe, who is now France's all-time leading scorer with 58 international goals and could have the World Cup record in his sights. England captain Harry Kane is four further back, but after netting twice in England's 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas, he drew level with Gary Lineker as England's all-time leading scorer at World Cup finals on 10 goals. With Ghana to come on Tuesday night, Kane might not be level for long. Wednesday's match also meant Kane became just the second England player – after Sir David Beckham in 1998, 2002 and 2006 – to score at three different World Cups. The Croatia match also marked Kane's 115th England appearance, moving him level with Beckham among the country's most-capped players. Meanwhile, Mbappe is chasing a second successive Golden Boot after scoring eight in Qatar 2022. Kane won the prize in 2018 with six goals. Other contenders include Germany's Denis Undav and Canada's Jonathan David, though the full list is incomplete. As Messi and Co. prepare for their next Group J match against Austria, the question hangs: are we about to witness a new record?