During France‘s encounter against Norway, Kylian Mbappe made history yet again by surpassing the legendary Brazilian icon Pele in all-time World Cup goal contributions. However, he still trails the reigning Lionel Messi.
According to renowned Spanish statistician MisterChip, Kylian Mbappe now has 20 direct goal involvements (16 goals and 4 assists) after providing two assists to Ousmane Dembele today. With this milestone, he becomes the second player with the most direct goal contributions in the entire history of the World Cup, sitting only behind Leo Messi.
While Ousmane Dembele put on a stellar performance and made history by netting a magnificent hat trick in the first half, Mbappe maintained an impressive level despite not scoring himself.
All-time World Cup goal contributions leaderboard
Mbappe continues to etch his name into World Cup lore. He has surpassed historic legends at an incredibly early age, like Ronaldo Nazario, knowing he likely still has a couple more World Cups left to play, where he will surely continue to dominate.
Kylian Mbappe #10 of France reacts during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I match
Here is the list of the players with the most direct goal contributions in tournament history:
- 27 – Leo Messi (18 goals + 9 assists)
- 20 – Kylian Mbappe (16 goals + 4 assists)
- 19 – Pele (12 goals + 7 assists)
- 19 – Gerd Muller (14 goals + 5 assists)
- 19 – Ronaldo (15 goals + 4 assists)
- 19 – Miroslav Klose (16 goals + 3 assists)
Mbappe firmly in the Golden Boot hunt
Mbappe is not just looking to surpass Miroslav Klose in overall World Cup goals—an all-time scoring list where they are already tied—, but he is also right in the thick of the race to secure this tournament’s Golden Boot.
He is competing with none other than Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker faced a certain disadvantage today, as he was benched during the match against France.
With four goals already to his name and plenty of the tournament left to play, Mbappe and Messi (5) look primed for a thrilling heavyweight duel for the Golden Boot, with just a single goal separating the two icons at this stage. Haaland is right there as well, not far behind with 4 goals of his own.
