FIFA World Cup: Messi, Mbappe aim to break Klose’s record
Lionel Messi is three goals away from Klose’s record while Mbappe needs four more to equal this FIFA World Cup legend.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is just months away, and two superstars – Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have a record to break.
And that’s a long-standing goalscoring record currently held by Germany legend Miroslav Klose.
FIFA WORLD CUP: MESSI, MBAPPE EYE KLOSE’S RECORD
Klose is currently the FIFA World Cup all-time goalscorer with 16 goals across four different tournaments.
He netted in four consecutive finals – 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 to surpass Brazil great Ronaldo who’s on 15 goals.
Now, with both Messi and Mbappe still active and likely to travel with Argentina and France respectively, that record could finally be broken.
As things stand, Messi is sitting on 13 goals from 26 FIFA World Cup games he has featured in for Argentina.
Mbappe, on the other hand, is on 12 goals from just 14 games he has played at the global tournament.
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ARGENTINA AND FRANCE KEPT APART
Argentina and France were kept apart when the FIFA World Cup draw was conducted in early December.
The defending champions are in Group J alongside Austria, Algeria and Jordan, and they are strong favourites to advance.
Meanwhile, France are in Group I, and they will face Senegal, Norway and a team that will be confirmed after the playoffs in March.