The race for scorers is in full swing: Mbappé has also overtaken Klose
By OnzeActu · · 2 min read
Messi and Mbappé overtook Miroslav Klose in the race for World Cup goals: Messi scored his 17th goal against Austria, and Mbappé equaled that tally against Sweden. Furthermore, Mbappé now holds the record for goals in the knockout phase.
The race for the title of top scorer at the 2026 World Cup is tighter than ever. Almost every big star finds the net and no record seems safe.
Miroslav Klose, who entered the competition as the top scorer in World Cup history, was demoted to third place as the games progressed. Lionel Messi had already surpassed the German by scoring his 17th goal in the final phase, during the match against Austria – one more than Klose.
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Kylian Mbappé has also reached this milestone: Tuesday evening, against Sweden, the French star scored his 17th goal in the World Cup. He achieved this in just 18 finals matches, an impressive pace for a player who is still young.
In the general classification, Mbappé still has to deal with Lionel Messi, who for the moment retains the advantage in total number of goals scored in the final stages. On the other hand, Mbappé can already claim another record: no one has scored more goals than him in the knockout phase of a World Cup. With his goal against Sweden, he distanced the Brazilians Leônidas and Ronaldo, who each had eight goals in the knockout rounds.
The fight for historic summits therefore continues to fuel the World Cup, and each match can still tip the hierarchy of scorers.