Lionel Messi has moved to 18 goals in the men’s World Cup, but the margin separating him from Kylian Mbappé is narrow enough to keep the record in play. Messi’s brace against Austria put him two clear of Germany’s Miroslav Klose, while Mbappé, on 14, has a chance to add to his tally when France face Iraq. The record belongs to Messi now; the question is how long it stays beyond reach.
Messi extends his lead
Argentina’s captain, who turns 39 on Wednesday, opened the scoring in the 38th minute after missing a penalty earlier in the match. He has converted four of the seven World Cup penalties he has taken in regulation or extra time, a record that gives useful context to the missed attempt: one failure didn’t prevent him from shaping the result. His second goal came in stoppage time, sealing a 2-0 win over Austria.
Argentina have now won both of their opening matches, including last week’s victory over Algeria, and secured a place in the knockout rounds. Messi scored a hat-trick against Algeria, bringing him level with Klose on 16 goals before the Austria match. Brazil’s Marta has 17 in the women’s tournament, a separate competition record that underlines how differently the men’s and women’s scoring lists are tracked.
Messi also holds the record for most World Cup appearances. His 18 goals have come across 28 games and six tournaments, a total built over a long international career rather than a brief scoring run. The Austria brace was his first time scoring on 22 June; he has now found the net on all but 78 calendar dates in competitive matches. That unusual detail speaks to the breadth of his scoring record, though the World Cup mark itself rests on goals across tournament editions.
Mbappé has a clear route to the record
Mbappé’s tally makes Messi’s new mark feel less settled than the number suggests. The France captain scored twice against Senegal last week, taking his total to 14 in only 15 World Cup appearances. He is playing his third tournament, while Messi is at his sixth, so the comparison is about more than the current gap: Mbappé has had fewer tournament appearances in which to accumulate his goals.
Mbappé has a chance to close the four-goal gap against Iraq. Iraq conceded four times in its opening match against Norway, though it put up a fight, and that result gives some indication of the challenge France may pose. It doesn’t guarantee a scoring opportunity for Mbappé. Whether he can catch Messi in this tournament depends on how many matches France play and whether his current scoring pace holds.
The 27-year-old has already scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final, a feat shared only with England’s Geoff Hurst. He also arrives after a season in which he scored 42 goals in 44 appearances for Real Madrid. Those numbers make him the most immediate threat to Messi’s record, even if breaking it will likely require more than one strong performance. The numbers here are striking, but tournament football rarely gives a player a predictable path from one match to the next.
Among active players, England captain Harry Kane is next on the list, with 10 goals in 12 World Cup appearances. Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo have each scored eight. The gap between those totals and Messi’s 18 shows how unusual the record is, even within a group of players with long careers at the highest level.
What the race means for the record
Messi’s record strengthens an already compelling case for his place among the greatest players, but Mbappé’s age and scoring rate give the mark a plausible challenger. This is more significant than it looks: a record built across six tournaments is being pursued by a player who has reached 14 goals in three. That said, a strong rate over a limited number of matches doesn’t settle what happens over a full career.
If you’re following the race, the next few France matches will show how quickly the record can come under pressure. Mbappé needs four goals to draw level and five to move ahead, while Messi’s Argentina have already secured a place in the knockout rounds. The record is Messi’s for now. The chase is real, but the timing and outcome remain open.
Lionel Messi is the men's World Cup record all-time goal-scorer after his brace against Austria... 🤩
...but 27-year-old Kylian Mbappe is only four behind 👀 pic.twitter.com/C5INR2E3oq— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) June 22, 2026
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