The expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 48 teams has reopened debate over the possibility that some of the tournament’s all-time records could finally fall.
One of them is Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals for France in Sweden 1958, a figure that remains the most goals scored by a footballer in a single edition of the World Cup.
With the first matches of the round of 32 concluded, Lionel Messi leads the 2026 World Cup scoring table with seven goals in 361 minutes played, while Kylian Mbappé has six, in 378 minutes, and will have the opportunity to increase his tally when France faces Paraguay this Saturday in the round of 16.
Messi maintains the advantage
The goal scored against Cape Verde allowed Messi to become the first footballer to reach 20 goals in the history of the World Cups, but the Argentine is still six goals away from equaling Fontaine’s record.
If Argentina reaches the final, the Albiceleste captain will have four games to try to get closer to that mark, so he would need to maintain an average of 1.5 goals per game to equal it.
Mbappé seeks to catch up with the Argentine
Mbappé will start the round of 16 this Saturday with six goals in the tournament. If he scores against Paraguay, he will once again share the scoring lead with Messi and will keep his chances of challenging his compatriot’s record intact.
The French striker would also need extraordinary production in the decisive rounds to aspire to a brand that has remained intact for almost seven decades.
Haaland and Kane are also still in the fight
The fight for the scoring leadership in the 2026 World Cup is not limited to Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé. The Norwegian Erling Haaland and english Harry Kane they also accumulate five goals each and they maintain a chance of getting closer to Just Fontaine’s record, although they start with a greater disadvantage.
To equal the French striker’s 13 goals, both would need to score eight more goals during the knockout phase, a requirement that will depend both on their offensive effectiveness and whether Norway and England advance to the final rounds of the tournament.
A record that defies all generations
History explains the magnitude of the challenge. After Fontaine’s 13 goals in 1958, the German Gerd Müller was the last footballer to reach double digits in a World Cup when he scored 10 goals at Mexico 1970.
Since then, no player has reached that figure again. In the 21st century, the best performances correspond to the Brazilian Ronaldo, with eight goals in Korea-Japan 2002, and Mbappé himself, who also scored eight in Qatar 2022.
The expansion of the World Cup offers one more match to the teams that reach the final, but the numbers show that Fontaine’s record continues to be one of the most difficult marks to break in the history of football.
With Messi (7), Mbappé (6), Haaland (5) and Kane (5), the final stretch of the 2026 World Cup also promises an intense dispute for the Golden Boot, while Fontaine’s historic record continues as the reference for the great scorers of the World Cup.