The players with the most non-penalty goals in World Cup history

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Football Muse

3 July 2026

Lionel Messi

has broken the

World Cup

goal record this summer, and

Kylian Mbappe

is already hunting him down.

Messi and Mbappe are leading an epic race for the

2026 Golden Boot

and have cemented themselves as the top two scorers in

history.

However, who would top the charts without the helping hand of penalties?

Well, Messi moves down the third among

top scorers excluding penalties, with four of his 19 goals having come from the spot. The Argentinean's four penalties scored at the

is a record, shared with four other players, including Eusebio and Gabriel Batistuta.

Mbappe has netted two spot-kicks during his

career. However, his 16 goals from open play make the Frenchman the joint-leading non-penalty scorer in

history, alongside German goal-getter

Miroslav Klose

. The latter saw his all-time goal record snatched this summer, but has no penalties to his name.

Ronaldo Nazario

(14),

Just Fontaine

(13). and

Gerd Muller

(13) complete the top five.

=1. Kylian Mbappe -

France

(16)

=1.

Germany

Argentina

(15)

Kylian Mbappé hits 18 World Cup goals, overtakes Miroslav Klose and closes on Lionel Messi

OffsAIde

Messi, Mbappé and Kane join elite club with 5+ goals in two World Cup tournaments

World Cup 2026 Golden Boot: Mbappe vs Messi standings as Kane joins thrilling race to finish top scorer

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How far behind is Mbappé? Messi tops the all-time World Cup table

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