2026 World Cup: a historic record – Haaland, Mbappé and Messi at seven

The 2026 World Cup continues to make history. For the first time in the history of the World Cup, more than two players have scored seven or more goals in the same edition: Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi currently lead the scorers' rankings with seven goals each.

This unprecedented statistical fact underlines the exceptional offensive scope of this final phase. Erling Haaland, scorer of seven goals during his first participation in a World Cup, struck people's minds by immediately establishing himself as a reference at international level. For his part, Kylian Mbappé has also found the net seven times and, according to the count mentioned, is already the second best scorer in the tournament behind Messi.

Lionel Messi completes this top trio with seven goals too. The finding is all the more remarkable as Messi has not yet played in the round of 16 at the time these figures are taken, which leaves the door open to a possible increase in his total and a new episode in the fight for the Golden Shoe.

This situation — three players to seven goals — has never happened before in the history of the World Cup finals. It demonstrates both a quality of individual finishing and a competitive context where several offensive stars regularly find the fault.

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The race for the Golden Boot is now relaunched and promises some intense moments as the tournament enters its knockout phase. Each of the three protagonists still has opportunities to increase their total, depending on the progress of their team in the competition and the playing time they will benefit from.

Beyond the individual results, these performances draw attention to the impact that these players have for their respective selections. Haaland, Mbappé and Messi remain key offensive players and their success in front of goal is a determining factor for the ambitions of Norway, France and Argentina.

This statistical record – three players with seven goals – adds to the long list of remarkable elements of this 2026 World Cup. The indirect confrontation between these world-class attackers gives the competition an additional dimension, ensuring observers and supporters a fight for individual laurels which will be played out until the last minutes of the tournament.

The battle for the collective title and the top scorer trophy remains open: see you in the next matches to see who will change history even further.