Mbappe Smashes Ronaldo’s Ultimate World Cup Record, Messi Not Even Close

France’s No. 10, Kylian Mbappe, is rewriting the record books at the FIFA World Cup 2026, and he is doing so with blazing speed. The 28-year-old forward, who plays club football for Real Madrid, bagged a brace on Tuesday as France eliminated Sweden with a 3-0 win in the Round of 32. With his twin strikes, Mbappe went past Germany icon Miroslav Klose in the list of top-scoring players in the tournament’s history, taking his overall tally to 18. With the brace, Mbappe has now scored a whopping 10 goals in World Cup knockouts, a tally that takes him to the No. 1 spot.

With 10 goals in the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup, Mbappe went past the Brazilian duo of Ronaldo Nazario and Leonidas, both of whom had 8 goals each to their name. Trailing them are France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Pele, who scored 7 goals each in the knockout stages of the tournament.

When it comes to Lionel Messi, who is the all-time top goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history with 19 strikes to his name so far, he has only scored 5 goals in the competition’s knockout matches. His eternal rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, surprisingly, does not have a single knockout goal to his name in World Cup history.

Kylian Mbappé has become the first player in World Cup history to score 10 goals in the knockout stage of the tournament

He is writing an incredible World Cup legacy pic.twitter.com/ZoU1jRjR8w

— OneFootball (@OneFootball) June 30, 2026

Mbappe’s sixth goal of the tournament drew him level with Argentina legend Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.

The French talisman’s predatory efficiency was on full display against Sweden’s compact defence. Supplied by a magnificent hat-trick of assists from playmaker Michael Olise, Mbappe twice found the bottom-right corner with his trademark blistering pace and lethal finishing.

“We are witnessing football history in real-time,” France manager Didier Deschamps said in his post-match press conference. “Kylian doesn’t look at records before a match; he looks at open spaces. But his ability to consistently deliver on the world’s biggest stage puts him in a category entirely of his own.”

The victory, France’s biggest in a FIFA World Cup knockout match since their 3-0 triumph over Brazil in the 1998 final, set up a Round of 16 showdown with Paraguay on July 4, who stunned Germany in a penalty shootout.

With ANI Inputs