Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup, Sport, Football, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé
Title – All-time greatest: who is the highest goalscorer in World Cup history? | World Cup | The Guardian
Author – Seán Clarke
Link – All-time greatest: who is the highest goalscorer in World Cup history? | World Cup | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T21:28:21.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2026/jun/17/who-is-highest-goalscorer-world-cup-history-messi-mbappe
Lionel Messi started his 2026 World Cup campaign with a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria .
The trio of strikes gave him a career total of 16 World Cup goals, equalling the existing record held by Miroslav Klose. It’s reasonable to expect the Inter Miami player to set a new mark this summer but he is being chased hard by Kylian Mbappé. He scored twice in France’s opening match victory against Senegal , giving him a total of 14 goals since his competition debut eight years ago.
The list shows the top 20 World Cup goalscorers of all time, from data provided by Transfermarkt. If two players are tied, advantage is given to the man who made fewer appearances.