FIFA World Cup 2022: Records That Could Be Broken In Qatar

There are several records that could be broken or extended at the 2022 FIFA World Cup including the all-time leading goalscorer, appearances in World Cups and many other records. We look at these records and who could possibly break them during the course of the tournament.

First Player To Score In Five World Cups

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of only three players in history to have scored at four different World Cups, finding the back of the net in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018. The other two players are German greats Miroslav Klose and Uwe Seeler. Should Ronaldo score in Qatar, he’ll become the first player ever to score at five World Cups. 

Most Appearances

Arguably the world’s greatest-ever player has played in 19 World Cup games during his career which is more than any other active player. The record for the most World Cup appearances belongs to Germany’s Lothar Matthäus with 25.

If Argentina make it to the final and Messi plays in each of the seven matches, he would break the German’s record.

Most Knockout Phase Assists

Lionel Messi has four assists in the knockout stages of the World Cup, a record he holds with Pelé, meaning he needs just one more to overtake the Brazilian legend.

Brazil’s All-Time Leading Goalscorer

Brazil’s current all-time leading goalscorer is Pelé, who has 77 goals, followed by Neymar, who currently has 75 goals for Brazil. The PSG man needs just three more to surpass Pelé’s record of 77 which has stood since 1971.

England’s All-Time Leading Goalscorer

Harry Kane needs just three more goals to surpass Wayne Rooney’s record and become England’s all-time highest goal scorer (53). The Spurs striker has scored 51 goals in 75 games for the Three Lions so far.

The World Cup’s All-Time Top Scorer

It is unlikely that this record will be broken but Germany’s Thomas Müller can become the World Cup’s greatest-ever goalscorer. He needs 7 goals to break Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 goals in World Cups.

Most Clean Sheets

Englishman Peter Shilton and France’s Fabien Barthez own the record for most clean sheets in FIFA World Cup history with 10 apiece. Germany and Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer can leapfrog them if he can keep 4 clean sheets in Qatar.

Most Draws

Italy and England share the unwanted record for most draws in World Cup history, with 21 each. The Azzurri are not at this year’s edition, meaning England need just one draw in Qatar to break the unwanted record.