Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two of the top scorers in the history of World Cup qualifying – but which of these legends has the better overall record?
Both players made their bow during qualifying for the 2006 tournament and are still rattling in the goals 20 years later.
Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal thrashed Armenia 5-0 to get their 2026 campaign off to a winning start.
He has now scored 38 goals in World Cup qualifying history, taking him two clear of Messi. Only Carlos Ruiz has recorded more and the Guatemalan is only one ahead.
The 40-year-old took to social media after the game, stating that this victory was the “first step taken” in his bid to play in a sixth World Cup next year.
Meanwhile, Messi and Argentina have already qualified for next year’s event. He scored twice in his country’s recent victory over Venezuela and is still the fulcrum of the side.
When crunching the raw numbers, Ronaldo has a far superior record in World Cup qualifying than Messi.
The Portugal captain has scored more goals in fewer games, but it can be argued that Messi’s standard of opponents in far superior to anything Ronaldo faces.
South American qualifying is brutal; even though Argentina always qualify, there are no truly easy games and no Latin equivalent of San Marino and Andorra to stat-pad against.
As a general rule, context is key when comparing any set of statistics. We can present the information, free of bias, and allow you to make your own conclusions.
Which is exactly what we’ve done below, listing Ronaldo and Messi’s goals, assists, penalty record and overall contribution in World Cup qualifying history.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Games: 48
Goals: 38⭐
Assists: 11
Goal contributions: 49
Penalties: 4
Minutes per goal: 106.4 ⭐
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 118.9 ⭐
Minutes per goal or assist: 82.5⭐
Lionel Messi
Games: 72⭐
Goals: 36
Assists: 13⭐
Goal contributions: 49
Penalties: 7⭐
Minutes per goal: 166
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 206.1
Minutes per goal or assist: 122
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