Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have broken almost every goalscoring record there is to break over the last 20 years, although there is one World Cup milestone neither has been able to capture yet.

Heading into the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, Messi and especially Ronaldo are running out of time as they look to become the competition’s all-time top scorer.

Klose sets the standard

That title currently belongs to former Germany striker Miroslav Klose, the ultimate World Cup specialist. While Klose scored more than 250 club goals for Bayern Munich, Lazio and Werder Bremen, he will forever be remembered for his exploits in international soccer’s most prestigious tournament.

Klose leads the way with 16 goals scored between the 2002 and 2014 World Cups. The German netted five times in his first two tournaments in 2002 and 2006, followed by another four goals in 2010. He was a squad player when Germany won the competition in 2014 but still managed two goals, the last of which came in the iconic 7-1 thrashing of hosts Brazil in the semifinals.

Legendary names in chasing pack

Next on the list come Brazilian legend Ronaldo with 15 goals between 1994 and 2006, and another German, Gerd Müller, whose 14 goals came in just 13 games across the 1970 and 1974 tournaments.

Messi sits in joint fourth place with 13 goals, seven of which came at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. No player in history has played more World Cup games than the Argentine’s 26.

Intriguingly, the other player who also scored 13 World Cup goals is Just Fontaine, who did so for France in only six games in a single tournament in 1958.

Messi’s final push

Messi therefore needs three goals at this summer’s tournament to tie Klose and four to surpass him, which certainly feels achievable.

Ronaldo’s fading hopes

Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, is joint 26th on the all-time list with “only” eight World Cup goals, alongside other big names such as Diego Maradona, Neymar, Rivaldo and Harry Kane.

The former Real Madrid superstar’s chances of ending his career as the World Cup’s all-time top scorer partly depend on him scoring at least nine times for Portugal this summer, which seems unlikely, although stranger things have happened.

Of course, he would also need Messi to leave his shooting boots at home. In any case, it appears only a matter of time before another player takes over from Klose at the top of the standings.

Mbappé’s looming threat

Kylian Mbappé, still only 27, has scored 12 goals in just 14 appearances across the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, when he netted eight times, including a hat-trick in the final. The Real Madrid forward will likely play in at least three more World Cups, which should give him plenty of chances to take the record.

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