Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe entered the 2026 FIFA World Cup within touching distance of football's biggest goal-scoring record. Here's where they stand in the race to become the tournament's all-time leading scorer.

NBC News is tracking French star Kylian Mbappé and Argentine legend Lionel Messi as they battle for the all-time FIFA World Cup scoring record.

Argentina's Lionel Messi has leap-frogged over Kylian Mbappe in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot race after his side's 2-1 win over England in semifinal in Atlanta.

Fontaine has held the record for most goals in a World Cup for 68 years.

Kylian Mbappe is one goal behind Lionel Messi in the World Cup record chase, but history shows scoring gets harder after age 31.

Kylian Mbappé is in France's starting lineup for Tuesday's World Cup semifinal match against Spain after the striker exited in the 77th minute of the team's quarterfinal win over Morocco. Mbappé scored his eighth goal against Morocco and enters the semifinals even with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi in the race for the