Several of football’s most celebrated figures, including Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, added new entries to the record books at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with FIFA releasing the tournament’s key historic milestones on Tuesday.
The competition delivered a wide range of landmarks, spanning all-time scoring achievements, coaching milestones and goalkeeping feats.
Below are the players and coaches who made history.
Records set at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
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First player to score in six FIFA World Cup editions: Portugal captain 41-year-old [name not stated in the source] became the first player to find the net in six separate World Cup tournaments. He also moved to second place on the list of the competition’s oldest goalscorers, trailing only Cameroon’s Roger Milla.
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All-time leading FIFA World Cup goalscorer (22 goals): Mbappé surpassed Germany great Miroslav Klose to become the tournament’s top scorer of all time. He ended the World Cup with 22 goals, finishing one ahead of Lionel Messi.
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Most World Cup victories (23): Argentina captain [name not stated in the source] established a new benchmark for the most World Cup wins by an individual. He overtook Klose after Argentina collected seven victories during the tournament.
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Most consecutive World Cup matches scored in (9): Messi extended his scoring run across nine straight World Cup matches, eclipsing the previous mark of six. That earlier record was shared by France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho.
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Most World Cup goals from outside the penalty area (7): The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner also became the leading provider of long-range strikes in World Cup history, moving ahead of Brazil’s Rivellino.
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Most completed passes in a single World Cup (790): The Spain midfielder set a new high with 790 successful passes at a single tournament. He improved on his own previous record of 638 passes from the 2022 World Cup, highlighting his role as Spain went on to lift the trophy.
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Most assists in a single World Cup (7): Olise broke a longstanding benchmark of six assists set by Pelé. In this tournament, five of Olise’s assists directly resulted in goals for Mbappé.
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Most clean sheets in a single World Cup (7): The Spain goalkeeper recorded seven clean sheets in eight matches, surpassing the former record of five that had been shared by Jan Jongbloed, Walter Zenga, Cláudio Taffarel, Fabien Barthez, Oliver Kahn, Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas.
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Spain’s defensive milestone: Spain also became the first World Cup winners to concede only one goal across the entire tournament.
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Most saves in a World Cup match (16): Room matched Tim Howard’s record tally of 16 saves, but did so in 30 fewer minutes during Curaçao’s goalless draw against Ecuador.
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Most World Cup matches managed (26): Deschamps overtook Germany’s Helmut Schön to become the coach with the most World Cup matches in charge, and also the manager with the most World Cup wins.
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Oldest coach to manage at a FIFA World Cup: At 78 years and 271 days, the Dutchman became the oldest coach to lead a team at a FIFA World Cup.
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Youngest substitute to score a World Cup brace: Manzambi made history at 20 years and 247 days, becoming the youngest substitute to score twice in a World Cup match.
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Players listed (from the source): 13. Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane (England) and Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé (France)
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First teammates to score six goals each in a single World Cup: The England and France duo became the first set of teammates to each finish an edition with six goals.
