The World Cup is considered to be one of the most important tournaments in any sport and the biggest in international football. Some players have left a big mark on the tournament with their goalscoring exploits. However, which players have scored the most goals at the World Cup?
Miroslav Klose (16 goals scored in 24 games at World Cups)
The former Bayern Munich striker was a relatively late bloomer. However, he certainly made a significant impact on the German national team, though, scoring 71 goals in 137 appearances and becoming his country’s top goalscorer.
All 16 of Miroslav Klose’s World Cup goals pic.twitter.com/SqlQn5Nrx6
— Former Footballers (@FinishedPlayers) June 10, 2024
Klose played for Germany from 2001 until 2014, attending four World Cups and scoring a record 16 goals. The forward won the Golden Boot at the 2006 World Cup and scored four times in 2010 and 2014, becoming the top-scoring player in the tournament’s history.
He retired from international duty in August 2014 at the age of 36. His goalscoring record at World Cups will be hard to beat.
Ronaldo (15 goals scored in 19 games at World Cups)
The former Brazil forward is a football legend, as he is regarded as one of the best players ever to grace the beautiful game. His World Cup history started at the 1994 World Cup when he was named in the Brazil squad despite being just 17.
He didn’t play at the tournament but picked up a winner’s medal as the Selecao went on to lift the trophy. In the 1998 World Cup, it was a different story for the forward, as he was regarded as the world’s best player.
Ronaldo’s team lost the World Cup final to France after the forward reportedly experienced convulsions before the final. The World Cup Golden Ball was of little consolation for him.
The forward and his team came back stronger in 2002, as Brazil lifted the trophy and Ronaldo won the Golden Boot, scoring against every opponent in the tournament apart from England in the quarter-finals.
Brazil suffered a quarter-final exit against France at the 2006 World Cup, with Ronaldo finishing as the competition’s third-highest goalscorer.
The goals he scored in Germany took him to the top of the World Cup’s top goalscorer list. The tournament also saw him become only the second player after Germany’s Jurgen Klinsmann to have scored in three World Cups.
Gerd Muller (14 goals scored in 13 games at World Cups)
The German goal machine played in just two World Cups, in 1970 and 1974, but still managed to score 14 goals in just 13 matches.
Muller scored a remarkable ten goals in six games in the 1970 World Cup. His goalscoring exploits were enough to win the forward the tournaments Golden Boot award.
View this post on Instagram
He added four more World Cup goals in 1974 when his team went on to lift the trophy. Muller scored the winning goal in the 1974 final, which resulted in a 2-1 victory over a Netherlands team that included the great Johan Cruyff.
The forward retired from international football after the ’74 World Cup after a reported disagreement with the DFB. At the time, he was Germany’s record-ever goalscorer, having scored 68 goals in just 62 international appearances, a record Klose later claimed.
Lionel Messi (13 goals scored in 26 games at World Cups)
The diminutive Argentinian forward, regarded as one of the best-ever footballers, has appeared in five World Cups, scoring 13 times in 26 appearances from 2006 until 2022. He was just 18 when he made his World Cup debut in 2006.
Messi would undoubtedly make his mark on the competition, winning the Golden Ball on two occasions in 2014 and 2022. The latter was definitely the most significant of his career, as he helped his country win the World Cup for only the third time.
The tournament triumph was considered validation for Messi after critics had often questioned his ability to drag his nation to victory, as fellow number ten and Argentine legend Diego Maradona had in the 1986 World Cup.
Just Fontaine (13 goals in six games at World Cups)
The French forward is a legend for the 13 goals he scored at the 1958 World Cup, as Les Bleus finished third place in the competition.
His goal tally secured Fontaine the competition’s Golden Boot, and his 13 goals is still the highest tally of any player at a single World Cup. The highlight of his World Cup was scoring four times against defending champions West Germany.
Fontaine’s career was cut short, as he had to retire due to injury just a month short of his 29th birthday. His international career goal tally stands at 30 goals in just 21 appearances.
Pele (12 goals scored in 14 games at World Cups)
The Brazilian football legend took part in four World Cups. He made his debut in the competition as a precocious teenager in 1958 and featured in his last World Cup in 1970.
Pele is the only player in the history of the game to have won the World Cup on three different occasions. He helped the Selecao lift the trophy in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
In the 1958 World Cup, the forward became the youngest player to ever play in the final of the competition, as he scored in a 5-2 victory against Sweden at the age of just 17 years and 249 days. He also became the youngest player to score in a World Cup final, netting a brace.
After helping his team to success in 1962, Pele repeated the feat in 1970 while also winning the World Cup Golden Ball at the same tournament.
Pele’s international goalscoring record of 77 goals in 99 appearances made him the Selecao’s top goalscorer until Neymar took the honour in September 2023.
Kylian Mbappe (12 goals scored in 14 games at World Cups)
The French forward has played in two World Cups. In the 2018 edition, Mbappe helped his team win the competition. He scored three times in the tournament, including a goal in his team’s 4-2 final win over Croatia.
Meanwhile, in 2022, he contributed to Les Bleus’ reaching the final, even scoring a hat-trick against Argentina in a 3-3 draw. Unfortunately for France, Argentina lifted the trophy courtesy of a penalty shootout victory.
On an individual basis, Mbappe claimed both the Golden Boot and the Silver Ball awards at the 2022 edition of the competition.