Argentina superstar Lionel Messi has overtaken Germany’s Miroslav Klose to top the overall World Cup scoring chart during 2-0 win over Austria on Tuesday.
On the same day, France talisman Kylian Mbappe has moved level with Klose after two games of World Cup 2026.
Ever since its inception in 1930, the FIFA World Cup has brought together the globe's greatest players in a celebration of the beautiful game.
Miroslav Klose led the overall scoring charts prior to FIFA World Cup 2026, but Lionel Messi has now overtaken him in first place after a hat-trick - his first in the World Cup - in Argentina's opening game against Algeria, before finding the net again twice against Austria.
And the former Germany international now has another active player for company, with Kylian Mbappe continuing his astonishing exploits at the global showpiece with his back-to-back braces against Senegal and Iraq giving him 16 goals from only 16 outings.
Here is the list of top 10 leading scorers in World Cup history.
Lionel Messi - Argentina
Goals: 18
World Cups: Six - 2006 (one goal), 2010 (no goals), 2014 (four goals), 2018 (one goal), 2022 (seven goals), 2026 (five goals to date)
Matches played: 28
Kylian Mbappe - France
Goals: 16
World Cups: Three - 2018 (four goals), 2022 (eight goals), 2026 (four goals to date)
Matches played: 16
Miroslav Klose - Germany
Goals: 16
World Cups: Four - 2002 (five goals), 2006 (five goals), 2010 (four goals), 2014 (two goals)
Matches played: 24
Ronaldo - Brazil
Goals: 15
World Cups: Four - 1994 (no goals), 1998 (four goals), 2002 (eight goals), 2006 (three goals)
Matches played: 19
Gerd Muller - West Germany
Goals: 14
World Cups: Two - 1970 (10 goals), 1974 (four goals)
Matches played: 13
Just Fontaine - France
Goals: 13
World Cups: One - 1958
Matches played: Six
Pele - Brazil
Goals: 12
World Cups: Four - 1958 (six goals), 1962 (one goal), 1966 (one goal), 1970 (four goals)
Matches played: 14
Jurgen Klinsmann - West Germany / Germany
Goals: 11
World Cups: Three - 1990 (three goals), 1994 (five goals), 1998 (three goals)
Matches played: 17
Sandor Kocsis - Hungary
Goals: 11
World Cups: One - 1954
Matches played: Five
Gabriel Batistuta - Argentina
Goals: 10
World Cups: Three - 1994 (four goals), 1998 (five goals), 2002 (one goal)
Matches played: 12
Teofilo Cubillas - Peru
Goals: 10
World Cups: Three - 1970 (five goals), 1978 (five goals), 1982 (no goals)
Matches played: 13
Harry Kane
Goals: 10
World Cups: Three – 2018 (six goals), 2022 (two goals), 2026 (two goals to date)
Matches played: 12
Grzegorz Lato - Poland
Goals: 10
World Cups: Three - 1974 (seven goals), 1978 (two goals), 1982 (one goal)
Matches played: 20
Gary Lineker - England
Goals: 10
World Cups: Two - 1986 (six goals), 1990 (four goals)
Matches played: 12
Thomas Muller - Germany
Goals: 10
World Cups: Four - 2010 (five goals), 2014 (five goals), 2018 (no goals), 2022 (no goals)
Matches played: 19
Helmut Rahn - West Germany
Goals: 10
World Cups: Two - 1954 (four goals), 1958 (six goals)
Matches played: 10
Source: FIFA
