Last updated: May 2026 | Includes all tournaments from 1930 to 2022
World Cup All Time Top Scorers
Ninety-two years of World Cup football and only one player has reached 16 goals. Miroslav Klose, a Polish-born striker who spent his career in German football, stands alone at the top of the most coveted individual record in the sport. Below him sits a list of names that reads like the index of football history. Ronaldo. Gerd Muller. Pele. Just Fontaine. Messi. Mbappe.
The record is under serious threat for the first time in over a decade. Kylian Mbappe arrives at the 2026 World Cup on 12 goals, needing five more to draw level and six to break it outright. Lionel Messi, at 38 and in what will almost certainly be his final tournament, also sits on 13 and cannot be ruled out of adding to that total.
Here is the complete list of every World Cup all time top scorer, with the records, the stories, and what 2026 could change.
The All Time World Cup Top Scorers List
| Rank | Player | Nation | Goals | Tournaments | Years |
| 1 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 | 4 | 2002 to 2014 |
| 2 | Ronaldo Nazario | Brazil | 15 | 3 | 1998 to 2006 |
| 3 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | 14 | 2 | 1970 to 1974 |
| 4 | Just Fontaine | France | 13 | 1 | 1958 |
| 4 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 13 | 5 | 2006 to 2022 |
| 6 | Kylian Mbappe | France | 12 | 2 | 2018 to 2022 |
| 6 | Pele | Brazil | 12 | 4 | 1958 to 1970 |
| 8 | Jurgen Klinsmann | Germany | 11 | 3 | 1990 to 1998 |
| 8 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 1 | 1954 |
| 10 | Gabriel Batistuta | Argentina | 10 | 3 | 1994 to 2002 |
| 10 | Teofilo Cubillas | Peru | 10 | 2 | 1970 to 1978 |
| 10 | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | 10 | 3 | 1974 to 1982 |
| 10 | Gary Lineker | England | 10 | 2 | 1986 to 1990 |
| 10 | Helmut Rahn | West Germany | 10 | 2 | 1954 to 1958 |
| 10 | Roberto Fontaine | France | 10 | 2 | 1958 to 1962 |
| 10 | Eusebio | Portugal | 9 | 1 | 1966 |
| 10 | Harry Kane | England | 9 | 3 | 2018 to 2022 |
Miroslav Klose: The Man at the Top
No player in World Cup history has scored more than Miroslav Klose. Born in Poland, he grew up in Germany and became the most reliable centre forward the country produced in the modern era. Not the most glamorous striker on any of his four squads. The most consistent.
He scored five in 2002 on debut, five more in 2006 winning the Golden Boot on home soil, two in 2010, and then four in Brazil in 2014 including the goal that broke Ronaldo’s record in a semifinal. Simple finish, turned to celebrate, immediately mobbed. He finished on 16 goals across 24 appearances. Nobody else has gone past 15.
Ronaldo Nazario: The Closest Challenger
Ronaldo stands second on 15 goals. He appeared at four World Cups but did not score in 1994 as a peripheral 17 year old squad member, so his competitive tally effectively came from three tournaments.
In 1998 he scored four goals as Brazil reached the final, where his mysterious illness before the match against France became one of the sport’s most debated moments. In 2002 he was imperious, scoring eight goals including two in the final against Germany to win the Golden Boot and the trophy simultaneously.
In 2006 he scored three, breaking Gerd Muller’s record of 14 with a penalty against Ghana that he celebrated with characteristic exuberance.
His goals per appearance ratio of 15 goals in 19 matches gives him the best conversion rate of any player in the top five.
Gerd Muller: 14 Goals in Just Two Tournaments
Gerd Muller played two World Cups and scored 14 goals. He averaged seven goals per tournament, a figure that has never been matched. He scored 10 in Mexico in 1970, including the winner in the semifinal against Italy in what became known as the Game of the Century, and four more in West Germany in 1974 when the hosts won the tournament.
His nickname was Der Bomber. He was not elegant and did not cover the ground modern forwards do. He stood in the penalty area, read the game faster than anyone around him, and finished with a ruthlessness that still looks extraordinary on footage from five decades ago.
Just Fontaine: Thirteen Goals in Six Matches
Just Fontaine scored 13 goals in six matches at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. No player has ever scored more in a single tournament. He managed it in his only World Cup appearance, was selected partly by circumstance after a teammate was injured, and proceeded to produce one of the most extraordinary individual campaigns in football history.
He scored in every match, including hat tricks. He passed away in March 2023 at 89, leaving behind a record that has stood for 67 years.
Lionel Messi and Pele: Thirteen and Twelve
Messi arrives at 2026 on 13 goals across five tournaments, seven of them in Qatar in 2022 alone including two in the final. Pele scored 12 across four tournaments and won the World Cup three times, still the only player to do so. His goals per appearance rate of 12 in 14 is exceptional, and his wider influence on every Brazil team he played in makes statistics alone an incomplete picture.
Mbappe: The Record Breaker in Waiting
Kylian Mbappe needs four goals at the 2026 World Cup to equal Klose’s record of 16. He needs five to break it. He is 27 years old, in the peak years of his career, and arrives at a tournament where France are among the favourites.
He scored four in Russia in 2018 as a teenager, becoming the second player after Pele to score in a World Cup final before the age of 20. He scored eight in Qatar in 2022, winning the Golden Boot, scoring a hat trick in the final, and still finishing on the losing side. Those two tournaments alone put him 12th on the all time list at an age when most players are still developing.
No player has reached Klose’s record from this position at this age with this much tournament football still ahead of them.
Records Worth Knowing
Most goals in a single tournament: Just Fontaine, 13 goals in 1958. The closest modern benchmark is Mbappe with eight in 2022 and Ronaldo with eight in 2002.
Most tournaments scored in: Cristiano Ronaldo scored in five consecutive World Cups from 2006 to 2022, a record for an active player. Uwe Seeler also scored in four consecutive tournaments from 1958 to 1970.
Best goals per game ratio in the top ten: Gerd Muller, 14 goals in 13 appearances.
Youngest scorer: Pele, who scored against Wales in 1958 aged 17 years and 239 days.
Only player to score in the final and lose: Mbappe did it twice. He scored in the 2022 final and still ended on the losing side.
FAQ
Who is the World Cup all time top scorer? Miroslav Klose of Germany, with 16 goals across four World Cups from 2002 to 2014.
How many World Cup goals does Messi have? Lionel Messi has 13 World Cup goals scored across five tournaments from 2006 to 2022.
How many World Cup goals does Mbappe have? Kylian Mbappe has 12 World Cup goals from two tournaments, 2018 and 2022. He is the leading active scorer going into 2026.
Has any player ever scored in five World Cups? Yes. Cristiano Ronaldo scored in five consecutive World Cups from 2006 to 2022, a record for men’s football.
What is the record for most goals in a single World Cup? Just Fontaine scored 13 goals in six matches at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. The record has stood for 67 years.
Can Mbappe break Klose’s record at the 2026 World Cup? Yes. Mbappe needs five goals at 2026 to surpass Klose’s record of 16. He is 27, in peak form, and playing for France, one of the tournament favourites.
All goal totals from FIFA official records. Active player totals correct as of May 2026. This article will be updated during the 2026 tournament as Mbappe and other active scorers add to their totals.
