Lionel Messi has become the FIFA World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 21 goals after a sensational 2026 campaign. See the updated list featuring Kylian Mbappe, Miroslav Klose, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane and other football legends
Lionel Messi Becomes FIFA World Cup’s All-Time Leading Scorer as Mbappe Closes In
Lionel Messi has etched another remarkable chapter into football history by becoming the FIFA World Cup’s all-time leading scorer, overtaking German legend Miroslav Klose following an extraordinary run at the 2026 tournament.
Since its inception in 1930, the FIFA World Cup has served as football’s greatest stage, showcasing generations of iconic players and unforgettable moments. Ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Klose held the all-time scoring record with 16 goals, but Messi has now surged to the summit after producing one of the finest individual campaigns ever seen at the tournament.
The Argentina captain announced his intentions with the first World Cup hat-trick of his career in his country’s opening victory over Algeria before adding a brace against Austria. He continued his prolific form by scoring in the final group match against Jordan, the dramatic Round of 32 clash with Cabo Verde and the thrilling Round of 16 victory over Egypt. Those performances have lifted his World Cup tally to 21 goals across six tournaments and 31 appearances, placing him alone at the top of football’s biggest scoring chart.
French superstar Kylian Mbappe remains firmly in pursuit after another sensational World Cup campaign. The forward has scored 19 goals in just 19 appearances, highlighted by braces against Senegal, Iraq and Sweden before adding a penalty against Paraguay. At only his third World Cup, Mbappe has already established himself among the competition’s greatest goalscorers and continues to close the gap on Messi.
Klose, whose record stood for more than a decade after helping Germany win the 2014 World Cup, now occupies third place with 16 goals from four tournaments. Brazilian icon Ronaldo follows with 15 goals, while England captain Harry Kane has climbed to 14 goals after another prolific showing at the 2026 finals, drawing level with West Germany great Gerd Muller.
French legend Just Fontaine remains one of the competition’s most extraordinary goalscorers, having netted 13 times in only six matches during the 1958 tournament. Brazilian great Pele follows with 12 goals across four World Cups, cementing his enduring legacy as one of football’s greatest players.
Cristiano Ronaldo has extended his own remarkable World Cup career to six tournaments and now has 11 goals in 27 appearances. He shares that total with Germany’s Jurgen Klinsmann and Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis.
Several legendary names have reached the 10-goal milestone, including Argentina’s Gabriel Batistuta, Peru’s Teofilo Cubillas, Poland’s Grzegorz Lato, England’s Gary Lineker, Germany’s Thomas Muller and Helmut Rahn.
Here, FIFA lists the leading marksmen in World Cup history.
Lionel Messi – Argentina
Goals: 21 World Cups: Six – 2006 (one goal), 2010 (no goals), 2014 (four goals), 2018 (one goal), 2022 (seven goals), 2026 (eight goals to date) Matches played: 31
Kylian Mbappe – France
Goals: 19 World Cups: Three – 2018 (four goals), 2022 (eight goals), 2026 (seven goals to date) Matches played: 19
Miroslav Klose – Germany
Goals: 16 World Cups: Four – 2002 (five goals), 2006 (five goals), 2010 (four goals), 2014 (two goals) Matches played: 24
Ronaldo – Brazil
Goals: 15 World Cups: Four – 1994 (no goals), 1998 (four goals), 2002 (eight goals), 2006 (three goals) Matches played: 19
Harry Kane England
Goals: 14 World Cups: Three – 2018 (six goals), 2022 (two goals), 2026 (six goals to date) Matches played: 16
Gerd Muller – West Germany
Goals: 14 World Cups: Two – 1970 (10 goals), 1974 (four goals) Matches played: 13
Just Fontaine – France
Goals: 13 World Cups: One – 1958 Matches played: Six
Pele – Brazil
Goals: 12 World Cups: Four – 1958 (six goals), 1962 (one goal), 1966 (one goal), 1970 (four goals) Matches played: 14
Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal
Goals: 11 World Cups: Six – 2006 (one goal), 2010 (one goal), 2014 (one goal), 2018 (four goals), 2022 (one goal), 2026 (three goals) Matches played: 27
Jurgen Klinsmann – West Germany / Germany
Goals: 11 World Cups: Three – 1990 (three goals), 1994 (five goals), 1998 (three goals) Matches played: 17
Sandor Kocsis – Hungary
Goals: 11 World Cups: One – 1954 Matches played: Five
Gabriel Batistuta – Argentina
Goals: 10 World Cups: Three – 1994 (four goals), 1998 (five goals), 2002 (one goal) Matches played: 12
Teofilo Cubillas – Peru
Goals: 10 World Cups: Three – 1970 (five goals), 1978 (five goals), 1982 (no goals) Matches played: 13
Grzegorz Lato – Poland
Goals: 10 World Cups: Three – 1974 (seven goals), 1978 (two goals), 1982 (one goal) Matches played: 20
Gary Lineker – England
Goals: 10 World Cups: Two – 1986 (six goals), 1990 (four goals) Matches played: 12
Thomas Muller – Germany
Goals: 10 World Cups: Four – 2010 (five goals), 2014 (five goals), 2018 (no goals), 2022 (no goals) Matches played: 19
Helmut Rahn – West Germany
Goals: 10 World Cups: Two – 1954 (four goals), 1958 (six goals) Matches played: 10
Ademir – Brazil
Goals: 9 World Cups: One – 1950 Matches played: Six
Roberto Baggio – Italy
Goals: 9 World Cups: Three – 1990 (two goals), 1994 (five goals), 1998 (two goals) Matches played: 16
Eusebio – Portugal
Goals: 9 World Cups: One – 1966 Matches played: Six
Jairzinho – Brazil
Goals: 9 World Cups: Three – 1966 (no goals), 1970 (seven goals), 1974 (two goals) Matches played: 16
Neymar – Brazil
Goals: 9 World Cups: Four – 2014 (four goals), 2018 (two goals), 2022 (two goals), 2026 (one goal) Matches played: 15
Paolo Rossi – Italy
Goals: 9 World Cups: Two – 1978 (three goals), 1982 (six goals) Matches played: 14
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – West Germany
Goals: 9 World Cups: Three – 1978 (three goals), 1982 (five goals), 1986 (one goal) Matches played: 19
Uwe Seeler – West Germany
Goals: 9 World Cups: Four – 1958 (two goals), 1962 (two goals), 1966 (two goals), 1970 (three goals) Matches played: 21
Vava – Brazil
Goals: 9 World Cups: Two – 1958 (five goals), 1962 (four goals) Matches played: 10
Christian Vieri – Italy
Goals: 9 World Cups: Two – 1998 (five goals), 2002 (four goals) Matches played: Nine
David Villa – Spain
Goals: 9 World Cups: Three – 2006 (three goals), 2010 (five goals), 2014 (one goal) Matches played: 12
