{"id":914844,"date":"2026-06-23T13:13:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/23\/mbappe-can-shatter-messis-record-nigerian-striker\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T13:13:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:13:30","slug":"mbappe-can-shatter-messis-record-nigerian-striker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/23\/mbappe-can-shatter-messis-record-nigerian-striker\/","title":{"rendered":"Mbapp\u00e9 can shatter Messi\u2019s record\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Nigerian striker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Kylian Mbappe in action for France. Copyright: xGuerinxCharles\/ABACAxImago<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 and Lionel Messi dominated headlines once again at the\u00a02026 FIFA World Cup<\/u><\/a>\u00a0with their goalscoring performances for France and Argentina respectively on Monday,\u00a0Soccernet.ng<\/u><\/a>\u00a0reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Both former Paris Saint-Germain superstars entered the tournament with their sights set on Miroslav Klose\u2019s all-time record for the most goals in World Cup history\u00a0and after just two rounds of matches, they have already sparked a thrilling Golden Boot race.<\/p>\n

Mbapp\u00e9 entered the tournament with 12 World Cup goals and drew first blood with a brace in France\u2019s 3-1 win over Senegal in their opening match. The double saw him move ahead of Messi on the all-time list and within two goals of Klose\u2019s record.<\/p>\n

However, Messi, who began the tournament on 13 goals, responded with a stunning hat-trick in Argentina\u2019s 3-0 win over Algeria, which took him level with Klose and back ahead of Mbapp\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Lionel Messi of Argentina looks on. Copyright: ImagoxJoaoxBravo\/SportsxPressxPhotox<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The two former PSG stars were again in the spotlight on Monday following more outstanding goalscoring displays for their respective countries\u00a0and their battle is now\u00a0shaping up to be one of the major storylines of the tournament.<\/p>\n

Messi scored twice in Argentina\u2019s 2-0 win over Austria, surpassing Klose to become the outright all-time leading goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history with 18 goals. The Argentine legend also\u00a0moved top of\u00a0the Golden Boot standings with five goals after two rounds of matches.<\/p>\n

Mbapp\u00e9 responded later in\u00a0the day\u00a0with a brace of his own in France\u2019s 3-0 victory over Iraq. The France captain moved level with Klose on 16 World Cup goals, just two behind Messi, while taking his tally for the tournament to four goals.<\/p>\n

Soccer Asisat Oshoala backs Mbapp\u00e9 to break Messi\u2019s record<\/h2>\n

After Messi set the tone earlier in Argentina\u2019s victory over Austria, all eyes were on how Mbapp\u00e9 would respond. The French forward duly delivered, scoring twice to remain hot on Messi\u2019s heels as the two players continue to pull away from the rest.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Nigeria and Al Hilal of Saudi star Asisat Oshoala. Photo by Justina Aniefiok Copyright: IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Super Falcons forward Asisat Oshoala also joined the conversation on her X\u00a0(formerly Twitter)<\/strong> account. The Al Hilal forward believes Mbapp\u00e9 could even go on to break Messi\u2019s record at this tournament, especially\u00a0after\u00a0his\u00a0stunning\u00a0start.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n
\n
\n

\u201cLet\u2019s not lie o, Mbapp\u00e9 is capable of shattering this Messi record at this current World Cup\u201d, Oshoala tweeted.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Both players have already helped their countries qualify for the next round and will hope to continue their historic runs on the final match-day of the group stage later this week.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
France forward Kylian Mbappe during the World Cup 2026 game vs Iraq. Copyright: xGuerinxCharles\/ABACAxImago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mbapp\u00e9 could even break the record when he leads France against Norway in their final Group I clash on Saturday, before Messi returns to action for Argentina against Jordan on Sunday.<\/p>\n

However, even if Mbapp\u00e9 does not overtake Messi at this tournament, he may still have the edge in the long run. The France star is likely to feature at another World Cup, while this tournament could realistically be Messi\u2019s final appearance on football\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

\"<!--Ayomide Oguntimehin” src=”https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/ycGEJDr9VZlpO_5zujn3ZdvICxA=\/150×150\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2024%2F12%2FAyomide-Oguntimehin-pics.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and Chief Editor at Soccernet.ng. He has interviewed Super Eagles stars like William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, and Ademola Lookman, and is known for breaking major transfer stories.<\/p>\n

Ayomide has worked with Sports Brief, Naija News and served as Social Lead Editor at Legit.ng. He has also featured on Goal, TVC News, Sports Mole, and Milan News24. He holds a Master\u2019s degree and is currently pursuing a PhD. Follow Ayomide on X (formerly Twitter): @ayo_oguntimehin\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Ayomide Oguntimehin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Kylian Mbappe in action for France. Copyright: xGuerinxCharles\/ABACAxImago Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 and Lionel Messi dominated headlines once again at the\u00a02026 FIFA World Cup\u00a0with their goalscoring performances for France and Argentina respectively on Monday,\u00a0Soccernet.ng\u00a0reports. Both former Paris Saint-Germain superstars entered the tournament with their sights set on Miroslav Klose\u2019s all-time record for the most goals in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":914845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33512,31524,2005],"tags":[72634,7522],"class_list":["post-914844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mbappe","category-shatter","category-soccer","tag-mbappe","tag-shatter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=914844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/914845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=914844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=914844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=914844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}