From Messi's 18 Goals to Curaçao's Historic Debut: FIFA World Cup Is Already Rewriting Football History

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, is the most expansive edition of the tournament ever staged. Featuring 48 teams and 104 matches for the first time, it was always going to be a record-breaking summer. It has delivered exactly that, with legends cementing legacies and smaller nations writing their own chapters in football history.

Messi Becomes the Greatest FIFA World Cup Goalscorer of All Time

Lionel Messi is now the highest goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history, across both the men's and women's game, with 18 goals. His brace against Austria on June 22 saw him surpass Miroslav Klose's men's record of 16 and Marta's overall record of 17. The same game also confirmed him as the record holder for most World Cup appearances (28), most wins (18), and most minutes played at the tournament.

Ronaldo Scores at a Sixth Different World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player in FIFA history to score at six separate World Cup tournaments, netting in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, and now 2026. He also became the oldest player to register a multi-goal game at the World Cup, aged 41 years and 138 days.

Three Players Compete at Their Sixth World Cup

Messi, Ronaldo, and Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa became the first three players in FIFA history to compete at six separate World Cup tournaments.

Curaçao Make History as the Smallest Nation to Play and Score

With a population of just over 150,000, Curaçao became the smallest nation by both population and land area ever to feature at a FIFA World Cup. Their goal against Germany also made them the smallest nation ever to score at the tournament.

Canada Claim Their First-Ever FIFA World Cup Win

Canada secured their historic first World Cup victory with a 6-0 demolition of Qatar. Jonathan David became the first Canadian man to score multiple goals in a single World Cup game, completing a hat-trick in the process.

Egypt Register Their First World Cup Win

Egypt beat New Zealand 3-1 to register their first-ever FIFA World Cup victory, according to Wikipedia's records on Egypt at the tournament.

Mbappé Rewrites France's World Cup History

Kylian Mbappé became France's all-time leading World Cup scorer after netting a brace against Senegal in the group stage, surpassing Just Fontaine's record of 13 goals. The same brace also saw him overtake Olivier Giroud (57 goals) to become France's all-time top scorer across all internationals. He has since matched Miroslav Klose's tally of 16 World Cup goals, placing him second in the all-time list behind only Messi.

With the knockout rounds still to come, the 2026 FIFA World Cup shows no signs of slowing down its record-breaking pace.

(With inputs from yMedia)