Barely past the group stage, FIFA World Cup 2026 is already the highest-scoring edition in history of the tournament. The ongiong edition of football’s biggest event rewrote the record books on Thursday, June 25, during the United States’ final Group D match against Turkey, when defender Auston Trusty scored the 173rd goal of the competition to move past the previous all-time record of 172 goals set at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
And the goals did not stop there. Turkey and the United States combined for four more strikes in a dramatic contest that ended in a 3-2 win for the Turkish side, taking the overall tally of the tournament to 177 goals with the group stage still not fully complete.
What makes the number stand out is the speed at which it arrived. The previous record of 172 goals had required all 64 matches of the Qatar World Cup to be completed. World Cup 2026 crossed that mark in only its 59th match – in the group stage.
Of course, context matters. This edition is the first under FIFA’s expanded 48-team format and will feature 104 matches in total – 40 more than the previous structure. More games naturally create more opportunities for goals.
Yet even accounting for the expansion, the tournament has carried a noticeably attacking flavour, with several traditional heavyweights leaning into aggressive football and elite forwards delivering consistently.
LIONEL MESSI LEADING THE CHARTS
Leading the Golden Boot race is Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who already has five goals to his name and has once again turned up at football’s biggest stage. Messi scored his first-ever hattrick in a World Cup game when he played against Riyad Mahrez’s Algeria.
Close behind him are Norway’s Erling Haaland, France’s Kylian Mbappe and Brazil’s Vinicius Junior, all sitting on four goals each after strong starts to the tournament.
Even Cristiano Ronaldo, who entered the competition under scrutiny over his place in Portugal’s setup, has chipped in with two goals and still has one final group-stage fixture left to play.
The attacking quality across the board has become one of the defining themes of the tournament so far.
Reacting to the milestone, FIFA president Gianni Infantino celebrated the achievement on social media.
“Surpassing the previous highest of 172 goals from Qatar underscores the excitement and attacking prowess that have already made the 2026 FIFA World Cup so unforgettable,” Infantino wrote.
With the knockouts yet to begin and nearly half the tournament still remaining, the final scoring tally could end up setting a benchmark that future editions may struggle to reach.
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