Within a matter of hours, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe both moved up to third place on the all-time World Cup scoring list, each reaching 14 goals. Mbappe did it first with a brace against Senegal, and Messi then answered with a brilliant finish against Algeria.
The article says it would not be surprising if both eventually match or even surpass Miroslav Klose’s historic mark of 16 World Cup goals, the tournament record. For Messi, who is 38, this is likely his last chance to do so. Mbappe, 27, already has another milestone, becoming France’s all-time leading scorer.
The comparison also highlights how quickly Mbappe has reached the total. Messi needed a record 27 World Cup matches to get to 14 goals, while Mbappe got there in only 15. That means the France star is scoring at a rate of one goal every 0.93 World Cup matches. The article notes that Gerd Muller is just ahead of him statistically, with 14 goals in 13 World Cup matches, or one goal every 1.08 matches.
The piece also presents the all-time list: Miroslav Klose leads with 16 goals in 24 matches, followed by Ronaldo with 15 in 19, then Gerd Muller, Mbappe and Messi on 14, with other legends such as Just Fontaine, Pele and Sandor Kocsis below them.
