Most goals in one World Cup: How Messi, Mbappe's pace in 2026 compares to all-time scoring records

Most goals in one World Cup: How Messi, Mbappe's pace in 2026 compares to all-time scoring records originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

>What Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have done for soccer is nothing short of incredible. The goal-scoring abilities the two have are a gift for fans to watch, and not to ruin the recent moments, but it's been done before and even bested.

>The all-time goal-scoring record at a World Cup is 13, set by Just Fontaine in 1958. While two other players have gone above the double-digit goal threshold, it hasn't been done since 1970.

>Mbappe's (eight) and Messi's (seven) highest-scoring tournaments thus far have given fans a treat to watch in front of their eyes, but both are still vying to inch closer to Fontaine's mark.

>Here's how Messi and Mbappe stack up against the World Cup's highest-scoring showings.

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What is the most goals in a single World Cup?The current record for the most goals in a single World Cup was set by Just Fontaine with 13. During the 1958 World Cup, Fontaine broke Sandor Kocsis' record of 11, which was set in the tournament prior. West Germany's Gerd Muller came close to breaking the Hungarian's second-best spot on the table, but fell one goal short in 1970 with 10 goals.

>Since Muller, the closest a player has gotten to eclipsing Kocsis came in 2022. During the World Cup in Qatar, Mbappe scored a hat trick during the final match that skyrocketed his goal tally to seven during the tournament. Despite one of the greatest final match performances in World Cup history, Mbappe's France fell short to Messi's Argentina in a penalty shootout.

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Ranking World Cup groups from hardest to easiest • >10 World Cup teams with best chance to win • >Ranking 7 best matches of the World CupWorld Cup single tournament goal recordWhile many current soccer fans may not have heard of Fontaine's 1958 World Cup, his individual tournament was an all-timer that still stands today in terms of goals. In 2026, the record has stood for 68 years, and only one player has risen above the double-digit mark since Fontaine.

>Here is highlights of Fontaine's 1958 World Cup in Sweden:

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Most goals in a World Cup by playerFontaine's 13-goal tournament in 1958 still stands alone as the highest-scoring individual tournament. Here are the players who have had the highest-scoring single World Cup tournaments:

RankPlayer (team)GoalsYear1.Just Fontaine (France)1319582.Sandor Kocsis (Hungary)1119543.Gerd Muller (West Germany)1019704.Eusebio (Portugal)91966T5Kylian Mbappe (France)82022T5Ronaldo (Brazil)82002T5Ademir (Brazil)81950T5Guillermo Stabile (Argentina)81930T9Lionel Messi (Argentina)72022T9Grzegorz Lato (Poland)71974T9Jairzinho (Brazil)71970T9Leonidas (Brazil)71938MORE: Where Messi's World Cup career goal total ranks on the all-time list

Most goals in 2026 World CupAfter Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria, Messi topped the charts for the top scorers at the 2026 World Cup. Here are the top five scorers at this year's competition as of June 22:

RankPlayerTeamGoals (Penalties)1.Lionel MessiArgentina5 (0)2. Deniz UndavGermany3 (0)3. Jonathan DavidCanada3 (0)=Kylian MbappeFrance3 (0)4. Crysencio SummervilleNetherlands2 (0)=Mikel OyarzabalSpain2 (0)=Maxi AraujoUruguay2 (0)=Ayase UedaJapan2 (0)=Cody GakpoNetherlands2 (0)=Vinicius JuniorBrazil2 (0)Most goals in a World Cup, by teamHere are the countries that have had the highest-scoring World Cups in a single tournament. Since the new millennium, only two teams have cracked this list.

RankTeam (year)Goals1.Hungary (1954)272.West Germany (1954)253.France (1958)234.Brazil (1950)225.Brazil (1970)19T6Argentina (1930)18T6Brazil (2002)18T6Germany (2014)18T9Austria (1954)17T9Portugal (1966)17T9West Germany (1970)17Top goal-scorers for every 2026 World Cup teamGoals and caps correct as of June 22, 2026.

>*Denotes playing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

NationTop scorerGoalsCapsAlgeriaIslam Slimani45104ArgentinaLionel Messi*119200AustraliaTim Cahill50108AustriaMarko Arnautovic*47134BelgiumRomelu Lukaku*90127Bosnia and HerzegovinaEdin Dzeko*73148BrazilNeymar*79128CanadaJonathan David*3977Cape VerdeRyan Mendes*2299ColombiaRadamel Falcao36104CroatiaDavor Suker4568CuracaoRangelo Janga2143CzechiaJan Koller5591DR CongoDieumerci Mbokani2249EcuadorEnner Valencia*49106EgyptHossam Hassan69177EnglandHarry Kane*79113FranceKylian Mbappe*59100GermanyMiroslav Klose71137GhanaAsamoah Gyan51109HaitiDuckens Nazon*4482IranAli Daei108148IraqHussein Saeed78137Ivory CoastDidier Drogba65105JapanKunishige Kamamoto7576JordanHamza Al-Dardour34122MexicoJavier Hernandez52109MoroccoAhmed Faras3694NetherlandsMemphis Depay *55110New ZealandChris Wood*4591NorwayErling Haaland*5550PanamaLuis Tejada43108ParaguayRoque Santa Cruz32112PortugalCristiano Ronaldo*143228QatarAlmoez Ali*60128Saudi ArabiaMajed Abdullah72117ScotlandKenny Dalglish/Denis Law30102/55SenegalSadio Mane*55129South AfricaBenni McCarthy3179South KoreaCha Bum-kun58136SpainDavid Villa5998SwedenZlatan Ibrahimovic62122SwitzerlandAlexander Frei4284TunisiaIssam Jemaa3684TurkeyHakan Sukur51112United StatesClint Dempsey/Landon Donovan57141/157UruguayLuis Suarez69143UzbekistanEidor Shomurodov*44128Most team goals in World Cup historyGoals correct as of June 22, 2026.

RankTeamGoals1.Brazil2422.Germany2413.Argentina1574.France1405.Italy1286.Spain1127.England1088.Netherlands1039.Uruguay9210.Hungary87