Messi leads World Cup scoring as Vinicius, Mbappé and Haaland on four | OneFootball

Lionel Messi leads the 2026 World Cup scoring race, with Vinicius, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland each on four.

According to L'Équipe, Vinicius netted a brace in Brazil's 3-0 win over Scotland on Wednesday, having already scored against Morocco 1-1 and Haiti 3-0, so he has found the net in every match.

Mbappé also has four, hitting doubles against Senegal 3-1 and Iraq 3-0. During this tournament he became France's all-time leading scorer with 60, and their top World Cup marksman with 16, ahead of Just Fontaine on 13.

Haaland, in his first World Cup, produced two braces as well, in the 4-1 against Iraq then the 3-2 over Senegal.

The man out in front is Lionel Messi. The Argentine turned 39 on Wednesday and struck a hat-trick against Algeria 3-0 before a brace versus Austria 2-0, accounting for all of his team's goals. His tally has taken him to a record 18 in World Cup history.

Behind that leading quartet sit five players on three, Deniz Undav, Matheus Cunha, Jonathan David, Ismael Saibari and Johan Manzambi.

Notable names currently outside the group are Lamine Yamal on one, and Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo with two each. Whether they, or others, reshape the standings before the end of the competition remains to be seen.

Source: L'Équipe