Who has most World Cup goals in history? Messi one goal away from all-time record

2 min readUpdated: Jun 22, 2026 11:32 PM IST

Lionel Messi in action. (FILE photo)

Arguably the greatest footballer of his generation, and one of the finest to ever grace the pitch, Argentinian legend Lionel Messi became the all-time leading scorer in FIFA World Cup history after a 38th minute strike against Austria on Monday.

Messi opened Argentina’s 2026 World Cup campaign with a historic hat-trick against Algeria, drawing him level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the joint-top scorer in tournament history. Both icons now have 16 World Cup goals to their name, one ahead of legendary Brazilian Ronaldo, who sits third on the all-time list with 15 goals.

Already holding the record for the most goal contributions in World Cup history (24), with 16 goals and 8 assists, Messi will claim the outright record if he finds the net in Argentina’s Group J clash against Austria in Dallas on Monday.

Another generational talent, France’s Kylian Mbappé, is closing in fast. In just his third World Cup, the French superstar has already netted 14 goals. He opened his 2026 account with a brace in France’s 3–1 victory over Senegal and now sits only three goals shy of the record.

Mbappé is currently tied with another German great, Gerd Müller, who also scored 14 goals. Müller, who recorded the third-highest goal tally in a single World Cup edition, averaged an impressive 1.08 goals per game. The best goals-per-game ratio, however, belongs to Frenchman Just Fontaine, who scored a remarkable 13 goals in a single tournament.

Should Argentina overcome Austria, Messi will also become the most successful player in World Cup history in terms of match wins. With 16 victories to his name, he is currently level with Klose, who achieved the feat in 24 appearances for Germany.

Highest goalscorers in FIFA World Cup history

Rank

Player

Team

Goals

scored

Matches

played

Goals

per

match

Tournaments

1

Lionel Messi

Argentina

17

28

0.59

2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026

2

Miroslav Klose

Germany

16

24

0.67

2002, 2006, 2010, 2014

3

Ronaldo

Brazil

15

19

0.79

1994, 1998, 2002, 2006

4

Gerd Müller

West Germany

14

13

1.08

1970, 1974

5

Kylian Mbappé

France

14

15

0.93

2018, 2022, 2026

6

Just Fontaine

France

13

6

2.17

1958

7

Pelé

Brazil

12

14

0.86

1958, 1962, 1966, 1970

8

Sándor Kocsis

Hungary

11

5

2.2

1954

9

Jürgen Klinsmann

West Germany

Germany

11

17

0.65

1990

1994, 1998

10

Helmut Rahn

West Germany

10

10

1

1954, 1958

11

Gary Lineker

England

10

12

0.83

1986, 1990

12

Gabriel Batistuta

Argentina

10

12

0.83

1994, 1998, 2002

13

Harry Kane

England

10

12

0.83

2018, 2022, 2026

14

Teófilo Cubillas

Peru

10

13

0.77

1970, 1978, 1982

15

Thomas Müller

Germany

10

19

0.53

2010, 2014, 2018, 2022

16

Grzegorz Lato

Poland

10

20

0.5

1974, 1978, 1982