Who has scored the most World Cup goals in history and who has made the most appearances?

The 2026 World Cup is coming up fast and for footballing greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s their last shot at history.

Messi won the World Cup for the first time in his career four years ago and he also set a new record in the competition in Qatar.

The Argentina legend became the all-time highest appearance maker at the tournament by making it all the way to the final.

Now, in what is going to be his last appearance, he will be aiming to become the player with the most World Cup goals scored.

But for Ronaldo, he’ll need Messi to get eliminated early, so he has a chance to set his own record this summer…

Who has scored the most World Cup goals in history? 

German legend Miroslav Klose is the record World Cup goalscorer, netting a whopping 16 goals at the tournament.

His record-breaking goal came against Brazil in 2014.

The striker sits above Brazilian icon Ronaldo, who has a tally of 15 goals in 19 games, and Gerd Müller, who scored 14 in only 13 appearances. 

But Messi was sublime for Argentina during the 2022 World Cup and scored seven goals, moving his total tally to 13 and jumping above the iconic Pele by scoring a brace in the final.

Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe is already on 12 goals, with a hat-trick in the final, moving him to joint-fifth in the all-time standings.