The FIFA World Cup has given birth to plenty of iconic moments this June, one which was truly extraordinary in football history. In just 24 hours, two of the world’s greatest icons of the sport piled up goals to blaze the World Cup scorelines and launched a fresh controversy over who can best become the next behemoth in the competition’s notional hall of fame.
With the tournament still playing out through North America, race for young and old is one of the biggest stories of the tournament.
Lionel Messi Becomes the New World Cup Goals King
El Capitan Lionel Messi officially becomes the World Cup’s new top goalscorer, with his second match in the year having netted Argentina’s third World Cup goal. The Argentine captain sealed top goalscorer status in World Cup history, completing his second match of 2018 with an Argentina goal.
The 38-year-old superstar hit twice in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria, the best of any player in the country, as previously held by Germany’s Miroslav Klose.
Messi scored his first goal against a record-setter and a late ignition hit scored his 18th World Cup goal. The goal wasn’t exactly a surprise as it extends a career packed with World Cup titles, Ballon d’Ors, and numerous club records.
His performance further solidified his claim to the 2026 Golden Boot, reflecting that age does not seem to have taken much of a toll on his influence in football’s greatest arena.
Kylian Mbappé Is Closing the Gap
France forward Kylian Mbappé has come up with a superb performance shortly after Messi etched his name in history. Mbappé netted twice to make his World Cup tally two goals against Iraq as France defeated them in the tournament.
With the brace, the French superstar had matched Miroslav Klose’s tally to find himself in a tie for second on the all-time list. In fact, for 27-year-old Mbappé, he is still in a very good shape to try and break Messi’s record this World Cup, and in the future as well.
He’s already in the company of football’s greatest tournament performers as an astounding scorer.
All-Time FIFA World Cup Top Scorers List
The FIFA World Cup Top Scorers list has been updated for the current top 5 after the recent games. Check the table tabulated below for the top ten FIFA Men’s Scorers list.
| Rank | Player | Country | World Cup Goals |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 18 |
| 2 | Kylian Mbappé | France | 16 |
| 3 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 |
| 4 | Ronaldo | Brazil | 15 |
| 5 | Gerd Müller | Germany | 14 |
| 6 | Just Fontaine | France | 13 |
| 7 | Pelé | Brazil | 13 |
This honour roll highlights some of football’s stalwarts, though today, two main Argentine and Senegalese sidepieces are the only living names at the top: Messi and Mbappé.
Why is the Messi-Mbappé Rivalry Historic?
This is a rare instance where football fans will see two generations competing on the same leaderboard.
Messi is the senior grande dame of their World Cups, which date back almost 20 years. Meanwhile, Mbappé is in his prime and keeps on firing the bullets as if he had no qualms. Besides, both players are still playing in the same event, making it rare to see both players challenge their respective records in real time.
Argentina and France have advanced to the knock-out stages and each game may be able to rewrite history yet again.
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Can Mbappé Break Messi’s Record?
The debate is raging if Mbappé will ever be the next all-time top scorer at the World Cup. He has a few more World Cups in which to go up the scoreboard at 27.
But now Messi is ahead and he has a way to go before he can lock down his lead. All goals in the rest of the 2026 championship may hold the fate of the Argentine legend. For the moment, Messi rules, but surely not all of it.
FAQs
Who has scored the most goals for his country in the history of the World Cup?
Currently, Lionel Messi has the record of 18 goals in Group stages games of the tournament after Argentina.
What is the number of goals scored by Kylian Mbappé for the World Cup?
Kylian Mbappé has netted 16 goals and is tied for second place on the list with Miroslav Klose in FIFA World Cups.
What was the previous record for the world cup?
Messi’s scoring record equaled Miroslav Klose’s of Germany who had 16 World Cup goals before him.
