Sunday, 9 August 2026Belfast · Northern Ireland

Retrospective archiveHistorical reports were compiled from linked contemporaneous sources. Dates refer to the events covered.How the archive works

Sport22 June 2026Archive brief

In association football, Argentine forward and captain Lionel Messi overtakes Germany's Miroslav Klose as the FIFA World Cup's all-time top-goalscorer with 18 goals

In association football, Argentine forward and captain Lionel Messi overtakes Germany's Miroslav Klose as the FIFA World Cup's all-time top-goalscorer with 18 goals after scoring a brace in a 2–0 win over Austria in the group stage.

By Belfast Herald Sport2 min read

Image not availableNo sufficiently relevant, reusable photograph is held for this archived report.

The development was among the significant sport stories being followed from World. Contemporary coverage attributed the principal details to AFP via RFI on 22 June 2026.

This report belongs to The Belfast Herald's retrospective archive. It was compiled from the cited reporting and preserves the information available on the date shown; later developments are covered separately.