A record that moved twice in one summer
For 12 years Miroslav Klose’s 16 World Cup goals stood as the record. At the 2026 World Cup, Lionel Messi passed it in June with a double against Austria and finished on 21 in his sixth and probably final World Cup. Kylian Mbappé then scored twice in the third-place match to reach 22, and won the Golden Boot with ten goals at the tournament. Mbappé is still in his twenties, so the number may keep climbing.
Ronaldo and international football
Cristiano Ronaldo took the men’s international scoring record from Iran’s Ali Daei, who had 109, in 2021. He has kept adding goals into his forties and is the first man to go past 140. On the women’s side, Canada’s Christine Sinclair retired in 2023 with 190 international goals, still the most by anyone, man or woman.
Old records worth knowing
Just Fontaine’s 13 goals in one World Cup, scored in 1958 in only six games, has never been seriously challenged. Pelé scored in four different World Cups. Gerd Müller’s 85 goals in 1972 stood as the calendar-year record for 40 years until Messi scored 91 in 2012.
Why career totals differ
Different sources count goals differently. Some include friendlies or youth matches and some do not, which is why you will see different totals for older players such as Pelé. We use official competitive and international match records. Follow today’s goals on our live scores page.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the top scorer in World Cup history?
Kylian Mbappé, with 22 goals after the 2026 World Cup, one more than Lionel Messi.
Who has scored the most international goals?
Christine Sinclair of Canada, with 190. Among men, Cristiano Ronaldo leads with more than 140.
More sports history
Data and credits: Facts compiled and written by ViralScopeHub, checked against ICC, FIFA, UEFA, NBA, NFL, IOC and major news reports (Reuters, AP). Flag images from our self-hosted flag set (see LICENSE). See live scores, sports history and our credits page.