New World Cup 2026 Record: Auston Trusty's 173rd goal
The World Cup 2026 rewrote the tournament record — including Auston Trusty's goal to top the most goals scored in a single edition.
World Cup 2026 continues to break old records — and another important milestone was scored when the 173rd goal of the tournament was matched. Auston Trusty's goal for the United States, two minutes into Thursday night's match against Turkey, brought the total number of goals in this edition to 173, surpassing the previous record of 172 set in 2022.
The joy for the United States was short-lived as they lost in the final moments and the score reached 177 after a last-minute goal was the winner for the opposition. It must be noted that this new record was set while the tournament was still in its group stages: 60 matches completed and 44 games remaining.
<figure style="margin:2rem 0;overflow:hidden;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;background:#f9f9f9"><img src="https://a57.foxsports.com/statics.foxsports.com/www.foxsports.com/content/uploads/2026/06/1408/814/eb13c9b9-usa1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1" alt="Image" style="width:100%;height:auto;object-fit:contain" loading="lazy" /></figure>To compare, the 2022 World Cup took a full 64 games to record 172 goals, which is why it is all the more remarkable that the new mark has been reached earlier in the current edition. Part of the context is also the first time the tournament has expanded from 32 to 48 teams, but even so, offenses continue to run at a rapid pace: the current average is 2.88 goals per game in the competition.
On a personal note, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi are also mentioned in the context of the top scorers of the previous edition and the current tournament: Mbappé leads in 2022 with eight goals, while Messi has five goals in the current group play. Messi's tally is likely to grow even further if the momentum continues as Argentina continue in the tournament.
Although Trusty's goal came in a loss for the United States, it was part of a record-setting World Cup that shows no sign of slowing down. The pace of goals will continue to be the center of attention as the knockout rounds approach and as the competition heats up in the remaining days of the group.
