Most Goals in FIFA World Cup History: Updated All-Time Top Scorers List

The FIFA World Cup has always been a watershed event for football players who create history on the world’s biggest stage. France’s Kylian Mbappé has written another golden chapter in the history of football by becoming the highest-scoring player in a FIFA World Cup after 2026. He has surpassed Lionel Messi and presently has 22 goals to his name. He has certainly shown his talent and consistency on the greatest platform in football.

Updated List of Highest Goal Scorers in Men’s FIFA World Cup History

Kylian Mbappé sets a new standard in FIFA World Cup goals history.

Kylian Mbappé claims the title of the highest individual accomplishment at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Before the kickoff of the tournament, Germany’s Miroslav Klose was still one of the biggest legends, scoring a total of 16 goals in the World Cup. Nevertheless, both the Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé were getting ready to play in the event aiming to break the record of Miroslav Klose.

Lionel Messi scored the first goal and, during the World Cup, managed to break the record of Miroslav Klose, and he is there with 21 goals.

He did really well throughout the entire World Cup, including the glorious semifinal match. Kylian Mbappé, on the other hand, finished 3rd in the tournament, and with two goals, he became the owner of the record of most scores in the World Cup.

At only 27 years old, Kylian Mbappé will still have the chance to beat the record in future World Cups.

How Lionel Messi Changed the History of the World Cup.

With his 2026 World Cup journey, Lionel Messi added another milestone to his legendary status.

The Argentine team captain made his sixth entrance in the FIFA World Cup and kept bringing spectacular performances.

The first goal of the World Cup was scored by Messi in the opening match with a hat-trick, and he continued scoring key goals in the tournament, accumulating 21 goals overall.

Additionally, Messi led Argentina to the FIFA World Cup final one more time. Even if Argentina did not take the trophy home, Messi has proven his consistency throughout all the tournaments he participated in.

Moreover, Messi is the only football player who won the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball Prize two times, which proves that he is not just a great goal scorer.

Mbappé’s Record: What’s So Special About It

Kylian Mbappé has rapidly climbed the ranks of the World Cup’s goalscorers.

He first competed at the World Cup in 2018, helping France secure the trophy. Mbappé had another fantastic tournament in Qatar in 2022 and continued his impressive performance in 2026.

While most legends of the game take four or five World Cups to achieve their tally, Mbappé achieved this only in three tournaments, proving to be one of the most glamorous goal scorers. This is owed to his speed, finishing skills, and high-performance consistency in knockout matches.

Due to his young age, experts believe that he can increase his tally in the future too.

Legendary Names That Keep Motivating

Tthe all-time goals list of the World Cup contains football legends who were the leaders of certain generations.

Miroslav Klose has been the holder of the record since he scored 16 goals in four World Cups, and it finally meant great success for him.

Ronaldo Nazário from Brazil is one of the best strikers of all time because of the number of goals scored in the World Cup, and this is 15 in total; besides, he was the captain of the Brazilian national team in 2002.

There are football legends such as Gerd Müller, for instance, who managed to score 14 goals in just two World Cups, yet Just Fontaine has scored the most goals ever made during one World Cup – it is 13 goals in the tournament held in 1958.

You might have heard of Pelé, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, Jürgen Klinsmann, and Sándor Kocsis, as they are also included in the list of the best scorers in history.