Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe turned the 2026 World Cup into a scoring contest that few tournaments can match. Between them, the pair scored nine goals across their opening two games, dragging Argentina and France into the knockout rounds and lighting up the Golden Boot race along the way. With both nations near the top of the World Cup odds, their personal duel has become one of the stories of the tournament.
The contest works on two levels. There is the race to finish as this tournament’s leading scorer, and there is the longer chase for the all-time World Cup record, which Messi now holds, and Mbappe is closing in on.
In this article, we look at the battle Messi and Mbappe have created in North America.
Two games, nine goals
The group stage returns are hard to ignore. Messi scored a hat-trick against Algeria, then added two against Austria, to reach five goals and lead the scoring charts. Mbappe answered with a double against Senegal and another two in France’s 3-0 win over Iraq, taking him to four. It is only the second time in World Cup history that three players have scored four or more goals after two matches, with Erling Haaland also among them, and the first time since 1954.
Chasing the same record
The deeper story is the all-time record. Messi’s brace against Austria took him to 18 World Cup goals, moving him past Germany’s Miroslav Klose and clear at the top of the list, and he is on 20 goals at the time of writing. Mbappe is not far behind. His goals against Iraq, scored as he reached 100 caps for France, took him above Klose in second with a total of 19 goals. He is already France’s all-time leading scorer. At 27, against Messi’s 39, Mbappe has the time to chase that record down across future tournaments.
A rivalry born in 2022
This is not a new contest. Messi and Mbappe met in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, widely regarded as one of the greatest the tournament has produced. Argentina led 2-0 through Messi and Angel Di Maria, only for Mbappe to drag France level with two goals in 97 seconds late on. Messi struck again in extra time, Mbappe completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot, and the final finished 3-3 before Argentina won 4-2 on penalties.
Mbappe became only the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, after England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966, yet still ended on the losing side. Messi lifted the trophy, and Mbappe took the Golden Boot by a single goal. Four years on, both have returned with more to add to their World Cup records.
Respect on both sides
For all the competition, there is little edge between them. Mbappe has called Messi the best player at this World Cup, a nod from the younger man to the one still setting the standard. With Messi widely expected to be playing his final tournament, this may be the last time the two share a World Cup stage. Those tracking the football odds will know both teams are among the favourites, which leaves open the prospect of one more meeting before the summer is out.
Whatever happens in the knockout rounds, Messi and Mbappe have already produced one of the tournament’s best storylines. One is closing a remarkable World Cup career, the other is building towards the record that would define his. For now, they are scoring at almost the same rate, a generation apart, and the tournament is better for it.