Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are neck-and-neck in terms of goals at the 2026 World Cup.Mbappe scored twice in France's 3-0 win over Sweden in the Round of 32, taking him to six goals at these finals.That matches Messi, who scored six goals in Argentina's three group games to set up a match with World Cup debutants Cape Verde for a place in the last 16.Mbappe's 2026 World Cup so farFrance were among the pre-tournament favourites to win the World Cup, based mainly on the potency of Mbappe, particularly at World Cups.Placed in the so-called 'Group of Death', Les Bleus opened their account with a 3-1 win over Senegal, in which Mbappe scored twice.He matched that feat with two more goals as Iraq were dispatched 3-0, then he drew a blank in a 4-1 win over Norway. France advanced as Group I winners with a maximum of nine points.Mbappe hit the goal trail again in the Round of 32, scoring either side of a Bradley Barcola effort as France set up a last-16 showdown against Paraguay.Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring the second of his two goals against Sweden in the Round of 32. AFPInfoMessi's 2026 World Cup so farMessi was at his mesmerising best as Argentina began their World Cup title defence with a 3-0 win over Algeria, with their captain bagging a hat-trick.He continued his rich vein of form against Austria, helping himself to two goals in a 2-0 Argentina victory, before coming off the bench to score against Jordan to seal a 3-1 win.Argentina finished top of Group J with nine points.Messi and Co face Cape Verde, the third smallest nation to appear at any World Cup, in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Friday (Saturday morning in the UAE).Lionel Messi came off the bench to score against Jordan - his sixth goal of the 2026 World Cup finals. AFPInfoGolden BootMbappe and Messi both have six goals at the 2026 World Cup, but Mbappe is technically ahead by virtue of the two assists he has provided.Messi has never finished top scorer at the World Cup, while Mbappe picked up the award at Qatar 2022 with eight goals.Both also have designs on Just Fontaine's single-tournament record of 13 goals, set at the 1958 finals.Overall World Cup recordsMessi's six goals in North America mean he is the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer with 19 goals. He has also played more games at the global finals than any other player – 29 games.His three goals in the win over Algeria took the 39-year-old level with Germany's Miroslav Klose; his goals against Austria and Jordan took him out on his own. Messi has now scored in a record seven successive World Cup matches.Mbappe, 27, is hot on his heels, though, with his six goals taking him to 18 World Cup goals in half the tournaments it took Messi to reach that milestone.Messi, playing at his sixth World Cup (a record he shares with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Mexico's Guillermo Ochoa) has scored his 19 goals at a clip of one every 0.66 games. Mbappe's 18 goals have come at a rate of a goal every game. Mbappe scored 18 goals in 1,550 minutes of World Cup football. Messi played 2,500 minutes to reach that figure.Messi, who alongside Portugal's Ronaldo has scored at a record six World Cups, has bagged five goals in knockout matches at the quadrennial tournament.That lags way behind Mbappe, who has scored 10 – a record – including a hat-trick against Messi's Argentina in the 2022 final.Both players have played in two World Cup finals. Messi was on the losing side as Argentina lost the 2014 final to Germany, but on the winning side when La Albiceleste beat Mbappe's France in the 2022 final on penalties. Messi scored twice in that final, as the game ended 3-3 after extra time, and converted his penalty in the shoot-out.Mbappe scored four goals as a precocious 21-year-old in France's triumphant 2018 World Cup campaign, including the fourth goal in a 4-2 win over Croatia in the final.He and England's Geoff Hurst are the only players to score three goals in a World Cup final.ProjectionsIt's hard to say what the outcome of an ongoing tournament will be or how far France and Argentina will go.Few would bet against Messi adding to his tally against minnows Cape Verde, although the tiny African nation have already held pre-tournament favourites Spain to a goalless draw.So let's assume Argentina win and book their place in the last 16. That would set up a clash with the winner of Australia-Egypt.After that, it's the winner of Switzerland v Algeria or Colombia v Ghana in the quarter-finals, with potentially Brazil, Norway, Mexico, and either England or DR Congo in the semis.App users: Click here to download the World Cup wall chartIf France can beat Paraguay, they face the winner of Canada v Morocco in the quarter-final and, depending on results, either Spain, Austria, Portugal, Croatia, Belgium, Senegal, United States or Bosnia and Herzegovina in the semis.If both Argentina and France can successfully navigate their paths, it would set up another mouth-watering showdown between Messi and Mbappe in the final.Both are capable of adding to their goal tally at this tournament.But no matter what figure Messi, who is most likely playing his last World Cup, finishes on, Mbappe will almost certainly eclipse it.At 27, the Frenchman has age on his side, with one, and potentially two or even three, more World Cups left in him.What they say about each other“He is one of the best in history, if not the best,” Mbappe said of Messi in 2023 shortly before the Argentine won his record eighth Ballon d'Or.Mbappe also shared a story about Messi's genius during their time together at Paris Saint-Germain between 2021 and 2023, alongside Brazil star Neymar.“Messi is ridiculous. It's not the same thing [when compared to Neymar]. He does everything right. I'm going to tell you a story,” Mbappe said in April.“We were in Paris, we were finishing up, and in Paris, me and Ney, we were at the top of the heap in world football. He [Messi] just came in and took 10 shots.Lionel Messi, left, and Kylian Mbappe during their time together at Paris Saint-Germain. Getty ImagesInfo“Me and Ney, out of 10 shots, we scored six or seven. He shot nine times; he scored the same goal nine times.“It was the end of practice, he's a little tired, like he was just passing the ball to the net, like he wasn't shooting, he was just passing to the net.”Messi also recognised Mbappe's talent following their epic 2022 World Cup final encounter.“He’s a beast, he’s very strong one-on-one, he finds space and he’s very quick,” Messi said. “He can score a lot of goals, he’s a very complete player and he’s been showing that for years. In the next few years he’ll be among the very best, no doubt about it.”