Most World Cup Goals
Who has the most World Cup goals? As FIFA just crowned Argentina as the 2026 World Cup winner, the coveted crown of all-time top scorer is still Germany’s Miroslav Klose. The striker scored 16 times over the span of the 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 global competitions.
As for the rest of the players, here is a list of the top goal scorers in FIFA World Cup history. Will Messi, who stands tall at #4, ever by the top World Cup scorer? I guess we’ll see if he plays in 2026!
| RANK | PLAYER | COUNTRY | GOALS | TOURNAMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 | 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 |
| 2 | Ronaldo | Brazil | 15 | 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 |
| 3 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | 14 | 1970, 1974 |
| 4 | Just Fontaine | France | 13 | 1958 |
| 4 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 13 | 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 |
| 6 | Pele | Brazil | 12 | 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 |
| 6 | Kylian Mbappe | France | 12 | 2018, 2022 |
| 8 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 1954 |
| 8 | Jurgen Klinsmann | West Germany & Germany | 11 | 1990, 1994, 1998 |
| 10 | Helmut Rahn | West Germany | 10 | 1954, 1958 |
| 10 | Gary Lineker | England | 10 | 1986, 1990 |
| 10 | Gabriel Batistuta | Argentina | 10 | 1994, 1998, 2002 |
| 10 | Teofilo Cubillas | Peru | 10 | 1970, 1978, 1982 |
| 10 | Thomas Muller | Germany | 10 | 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 |
| 10 | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | 10 | 1974, 1978, 1982 |
| 16 | Ademir | Brazil | 9 | 1950 |
| 16 | Eusebio | Portugal | 9 | 1966 |
| 16 | Christian Vieri | Italy | 9 | 1998, 2002 |
| 16 | Vava | Brazil | 9 | 1958, 1962 |
| 16 | David Villa | Spain | 9 | 2006, 2010, 2014 |
| 16 | Paolo Rossi | Italy | 9 | 1978, 1982, 1986 |
| 16 | Jairzinho | Brazil | 9 | 1966, 1970, 1974 |
| 16 | Roberto Baggio | Italy | 9 | 1990, 1994, 1998 |
| 16 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany | 9 | 1978, 1982, 1986 |
| 16 | Uwe Seeler | West Germany | 9 | 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 |
| 26 | Guillermo Stabile | Argentina | 8 | 1930 |
| 26 | Leonidas | Brazil | 8 | 1934, 1938 |
| 26 | Oscar Miguez | Uruguay | 8 | 1950, 1954 |
| 26 | Harry Kane | England | 8 | 2018, 2022 |
| 26 | Neymar | Brazil | 8 | 2014, 2018, 2022 |
| 26 | Rivaldo | Brazil | 8 | 2014, 2018, 2022 |
| 26 | Rudi Voller | West Germany & Germany | 8 | 1986, 1990, 1994 |
| 26 | Diego Maradona | Argentina | 8 | 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994 |
| 26 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 8 | 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 |
| 35 | Oldrich Nejedly | Czechoslovakia | 7 | 1934, 1938 |
| 35 | Lajos Tichy | Hungary | 7 | 1958, 1962, 1966 |
| 35 | Careca | Brazil | 7 | 1986, 1990 |
| 35 | Johnny Rep | Netherlands | 7 | 1974, 1978 |
| 35 | Andrzej Szarmach | Poland | 7 | 1974, 1978, 1982 |
| 35 | Hans Schafer | West Germany | 7 | 1954, 1958, 1962 |
| 35 | Luis Suarez | Uruguay | 7 | 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 |
Can you guess who the top World Cup scorer for the United States is? Landon Donovan with five goals over three different appearances.
Hey 👋 I’m Beau. A proud Dad, former coach and soccer enthusiast. I continue to love the game of soccer today the same way I did when I was 7. I created soccernovo.com to share what I know about the game as well as provide a platform so other parents can learn more about youth soccer in the U.S. 
