Mbappé vs. Messi: Whose FIFA World Cup goals record will prevail?

It has taken twelve years to break this World Cup record, but any minute now it could be broken again.

The record for most goals scored during a World Cup career has become a battle between the man who set the new record last week and the man likely to beat him.

In his sixth and widely expected final World Cup, Argentinian Lionel Messi has scored five times already, including a hat trick in his opening game, catapulting the 39-year-old past Miroslav Klose’s 2014 record of 16 World Cup goals.

Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, forward for the Les Bleus, is close behind. Mbappé has 16 World Cup goals, four scored in the first two games of the tournament. Both men entered the tournament neck and neck, with 13 previous World Cup goals for Messi and 12 for Mbappé. Messi has had more opportunities: This is his sixth World Cup, while it’s Mbappé’s third.

Who ends up with the World Cup goal record could depend on how deep their team makes it into the tournament. Both teams are among the most likely to win the tournament, and according to multiple sportsbooks France is the current favorite with Argentina close behind. NBC News will update these graphics as Mbappé and Messi continue to score.

The 2022 World Cup final, in Qatar, is the last time the two went head to head on the pitch. Argentina took home the trophy, but Mbappé notched himself a hat trick, only the second such feat in World Cup history.

Messi is the first man to play in six World Cups, and has won the prestigious Ballon d’Or (“Golden Ball”) award a record eight times in his decades-long professional career.

During this year’s cup, the 27-year-old Mbappé became the French national team’s all-time top goal scorer. He surpassed Olivier Giroud’s record of 58 goals with two strikes in a 3-1 win over Senegal on June 16.

Across his 28 World Cup appearances, Messi averages two goals per three games played. Mbappé, who has logged 16 World Cup matches, averages about one score per game.

Mbappé holds the record for most goals scored during a World Cup final with four. Messi, on the other hand, has a higher rate of World Cup assists. With six assists in his World Cup career, Messi contributes to a score of about one in every four games. Mbappé, with two assists in his World Cup appearances, averages an assist every eight games.

Mbappé is often pitted against Messi, especially as he creeps up on the legend’s long list of records. When reporters asked Mbappé on Sunday who is the best among this World Cup’s stars — Lionel Messi, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland and himself — he didn’t flinch in his response: “Lionel Messi. It’s clear.”

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