{"id":215043,"date":"2026-06-27T03:37:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T03:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/gooooooooals-mbappe-battles-messi-for-all-time-world-cup-scoring-record-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T03:37:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T03:37:46","slug":"gooooooooals-mbappe-battles-messi-for-all-time-world-cup-scoring-record-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/gooooooooals-mbappe-battles-messi-for-all-time-world-cup-scoring-record-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Gooooooooals: Mbapp\u00e9 battles Messi for all-time World Cup scoring record – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It has taken twelve years to break this World Cup record, but any minute now it could be broken again.
Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscription
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The record for most goals scored during a World Cup career has become a battle between the man who set the new record last week and the man likely to beat him.
In his sixth and widely expected final World Cup, Argentinian Lionel Messi has scored five times already, including a hat trick in his opening game, catapulting the 39-year-old past Miroslav Klose\u2019s 2014 record of 16 World Cup goals.
Frenchman Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, forward for the Les Bleus, is close behind. Mbapp\u00e9 has 16 World Cup goals, four scored in the first two games of the tournament. Both men entered the tournament neck and neck, with 13 previous World Cup goals for Messi and 12 for Mbapp\u00e9. Messi has had more opportunities: This is his sixth World Cup, while it\u2019s Mbapp\u00e9\u2019s third.
Who ends up with the World Cup goal record could depend on how deep their team makes it into the tournament. Both teams are among the most likely to win the tournament, and according to multiple sportsbooks France is the current favorite with Argentina close behind. NBC News will update these graphics as Mbapp\u00e9 and Messi continue to score.
The 2022 World Cup final, in Qatar, is the last time the two went head to head on the pitch. Argentina took home the trophy, but Mbapp\u00e9 notched himself a hat trick, only the second such feat in World Cup history.
Messi has played in six World Cups, and has won the prestigious Ballon d\u2019Or (\u201cGolden Ball\u201d) award a record eight times in his decades-long professional career.
During this year\u2019s cup, the 27-year-old Mbapp\u00e9 became the French national team\u2019s all-time top goal scorer. He surpassed Olivier Giroud\u2019s record of 58 goals with two strikes in a 3-1 win over Senegal on June 16.
Across his 28 World Cup appearances, Messi averages two goals per three games played. Mbapp\u00e9, who has logged 17 World Cup matches, averages about one score per game.
Mbapp\u00e9 holds the record for most goals scored during a World Cup final with four. Messi, on the other hand, has a higher rate of World Cup assists. With six assists in his World Cup career, Messi contributes to a score of about one in every four games. Mbapp\u00e9, with two assists in his World Cup appearances, averages an assist every eight games.
Mbapp\u00e9 is often pitted against Messi, especially as he creeps up on the legend\u2019s long list of records. When reporters asked Mbapp\u00e9 on Sunday who is the best among this World Cup\u2019s stars \u2014 Lionel Messi, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland and himself \u2014 he didn\u2019t flinch in his response<\/a>: \u201cLionel Messi. It\u2019s clear.\u201d
Joelle Gross is a data reporter for NBC News.
Jiachuan Wu is a senior interactive journalist for NBC News Digital.
Ashley Mowreader is a data graphics intern for NBC News.
Joe Murphy is a data editor at NBC News.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeIt has taken twelve years to break this World Cup record, but any minute now it could be broken again.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.The record for most goals scored during a World Cup career has become a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":215044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-215043","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}