The 2026 World Cup is barely ten days old, yet the tournament has already managed to rewrite football history in remarkable fashion.
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland all hit the ground running in their respective nations’ opening fixtures, setting the stage for a record-breaking competition.
Messi’s stunning hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria moved the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who had stood alone on 16 World Cup goals since 2014.
Messi required 27 games to reach 16 goals, three more than Klose needed, but the 2022 World Cup winner will certainly not mind the manner of his achievement.
France captain Mbappe lurks close behind on 14 World Cup goals and is now also France’s all-time leading scorer with 58 international goals, making him a genuine threat to Messi’s record.
Kane drew level with Gary Lineker as England’s all-time leading scorer at World Cup finals on 10 goals, after netting twice in the Three Lions’ 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas.
That performance also made Kane the second England player to score at three different World Cups, after Sir David Beckham achieved the feat across 1998, 2002 and 2006.
Wednesday’s match against Croatia also saw Kane reach 115 England caps, moving him level with Beckham among the country’s most-capped players, ahead of England’s next group game against Ghana.
Cristiano Ronaldo became the oldest outfield player to start at a World Cup at 41 years and 132 days, surpassing Canada’s Atiba Hutchinson, who was 39 years and 296 days when he started at the 2022 tournament.
Ronaldo also joined Messi as the only men to have played in six World Cup tournaments, and a single goal this year would give him a record six different World Cups in which he has scored.
Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, aged 40 years and 12 days, became the oldest player to appear in a nation’s debut World Cup match, keeping out European champions Spain with seven saves in a 0-0 draw.
Haaland scored twice against Iraq in just 20 touches to become the first player to net a double for Norway at the World Cup, drawing level with Kjetil Rekdal as his country’s joint all-time leading scorer at the finals.
France manager Didier Deschamps is just one win away from equalling Helmut Schon’s all-time record of 16 managerial victories at the World Cup, with games against Iraq and Norway still to come.
Six red cards have already been shown at the 2026 tournament, including three in Mexico’s opening win over South Africa, surpassing the total from each of the previous two World Cups in Qatar and Russia.
With the competition still in its early stages and the world’s greatest players continuing to push personal milestones, there is every reason to believe the record books will look very different by the final whistle.
