Who has the most goals in World Cup history? Check out all time top scorers
With his two goals against Austria, Lionel Messi is now the all-time World Cup top scorer with 18, breaking a tie with Germany's Miroslav Klose.
Messi entered this tournament on 13 career goals in this his record sixth FIFA World Cup and leveled Klose on 16 with his hat trick in Argentina's first match against Algeria in Kansas City.
France's Kylian Mbappe had temporarily become the active leader by scoring two goals against Senegal, but Messi came back later in that day with his GOAT-tier performance. Mbappe responded to Messi with two goals of his own a few hours later in a win over Iraq – tying him with Klose on 16 goals.
England's Harry Kane is the only other active player with double digit World Cup goals, now at 10 in his career after his brace against Croatia.
Here's a look at the all-time leaders:
Buy Argentina World Cup tickets!
World Cup top scorers in history
- 18 – Lionel Messi, Argentina
- 16 – Kylian Mbappe, France
- 16 – Miroslav Klose, Germany
- 15 – Ronaldo, Brazil
- 14 – Gerd Muller, West Germany
- 13 – Just Fontaine, France
- 12 – Pele, Brazil
- 11 – Sandor Kocsis, Hungary
- 11 – Jurgen Klinsmann, West Germany and Germany
- 10 – Harry Kane, England
- 10 – Helmut Rahn, West Germany
- 10 – Gary Lineker, England
- 10 – Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina
- 10 – Teofilo Cubillas, Peru
- 10 – Thomas Muller, Germany
- 10 – Grzergor Lato, Poland
Our editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.