The debate over Lionel Messi’s status in the annals of footballing history is all well and good, and he’s now the leading goal scorer in the history of the World Cup.
Messi scored a hat trick in his 2026 World Cup opener to join Miroslav Klose on 16 goals as the most prolific scorer at the tournament, and then bagged a brace against Austria to break the record and build on his new standard.
MORE — Messi scores hat trick at 2026 World Cup (video)
Unfortunately for Messi, he’s got someone hot on his heels and could even finish this tournament as No. 2 all-time.
Of course there are more than goals records at the World Cup. There’s the appearances record (spoiler alert, name No. 1 has been mentioned) as well as others.
Read on and learn a bit more about the world’s most famous football tournament (Does it need the “football” modifier?).
World Cup goals record, all-time
Bold denotes active player
- Lionel Messi, 21 (34 games)
- Kylian Mbappe, 20 (21 games)
- Miroslav Klose, 16 (24 games)
- Ronaldo, 15 (19 games)
- Gerd Muller, 14 (13 games)
- Harry Kane, 14 (18 games)
- Just Fontaine, 13 (6 games)
- Pele, 12 (14 games)
- Sandor Kocsis, 11 (5 games)
- Jurgen Klinsmann, 11 (17 games)
- Cristiano Ronaldo, 11 (27 games)
World Cup appearances record, all-time
Bold denotes active player
- Lionel Messi, 34
- Cristiano Ronaldo, 27
- Lothar Matthaus, 25
- Miroslav Klose, 24
- Paolo Maldini, 23
- Manuel Neuer, 23
- Luka Modric, 23
- Diego Maradona, 21
- Uwe Seeler, 21
- Wladyslaw Zmuda, 21
- Ivan Perisic, 21
- Thibaut Courtois, 21
- Kylian Mbappe, 21
- Nicolas Otamendi, 21
- Cafu, 20
- Philipp Lahm, 20
- Grzegorz Lato, 20
- Hugo Lloris, 20
- Javier Mascherano, 20
- Bastian Schweinsteiger, 20
Next active players: Mateo Kovacic, 19, Jordan Pickford, 19, Luka Modric, 19; Fernando Muslera, 19; Kevin De Bruyne, 18, Harry Kane 18, Ousmane Dembele, 18, Romelu Lukaku, 18, Ricardo Rodriguez, 18, Granit Xhaka, 18.
Who has appeared in the most World Cup tournaments?
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi became the first players to play in six World Cups when they debuted in the 2026 tournament.
Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is the third player to make the national team roster for six World Cups, though he did not play in the 2006 and 2010 tournaments.
Nine other players have been on five World Cup rosters including active players Manuel Neuer (Germany), Luka Modric (Croatia), Fernando Muslera (Uruguay), and Yuto Nagatomo (Japan).
Who has scored in the most World Cup tournaments?
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in six World Cups, passing Messi after the Argentine joined him on five earlier this summer.
