Who are the top scorers in the history of the World Cup?

The World Cup has been the setting for some of the game’s greatest-ever goal scorers. 

Over the years, legendary names such as Gary Lineker, Eusabio and Paolo Rossi have all walked away from the tournament with the prestigious Golden Boot and in 2026, a back-to-back winner was crowned. 

But who, in the history of football's biggest showpiece, has scored the most goals at World Cup Finals?

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11 goals

Sándor Kocsis (Hungary)
1954 

Not a name too many will be familiar with, but the Hungarian was one of the stars of the 1954 tournament, where he scored 11 goals in the Swiss-hosted finals.

The striker netted a hat-trick in the opening game against South Korea, then netted four further goals in a win over Germany. Two more braces followed, as Hungary made it all the way to the final, but that became the only game Kocsis didn't register, as his side were beaten by the Germans. 

Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany)
1990, 1994,1998 

One of the 90s' deadliest finishers, Klimsmann was the focal point of the German attack across three tournaments, and he netted 11 goals over the decade. 

Beginning in 1990, the striker scored three times as the Germans went on to win the competition in Italy, before adding a further five goals four years later at USA '94.

That summer, Klinsmann made a shock move to the Premier League, becoming one of the first big-name foreigners to make the jump to the English league, and he spent a memorable season with Spurs. 

He completed his World Cup trilogy in France, with two final goals on football's biggest stage. 

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12 goals 

Pelé (Brazil) 
1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 

A football icon whose name is synonymous with the World Cup, Pelé burst onto the scene at the 1958 tournament as a teenager, and his performances would send him into superstardom. 

His six goals helped Brazil take home the trophy, and four years later, they retained it, though this time around, the striker scored only a solitary goal. 

Another goal followed in the '66 finals, but it was in 1970 that Pelé would complete his World Cup journey with four goals and his third winners' medal, cementing him as one of the all-time greats. 

13 goals

Just Fontaine (France)
1958

A name that remains forever linked with the World Cup, thanks to a tally that has never been beaten at a finals. 

At the 1958 tournament, the striker scored 13 times, the highest number of goals ever scored at a single World Cup, as France finished third in Sweden. 

That total included a hat-trick in the opener against Paraguay as well as putting four past defending champions Germany in the third-place play-off. 

14 goals

Harry Kane (England)
2018, 2022, 2026

 

England's all-time leading goalscorer is also their top marksman at the World Cup, having scored across three tournaments so far.

Kane wasted little time climbing the charts as he won the Golden Boot award with six goals at his debut World Cup in Russia, although his stay at Qatar 2022 ended with just two goals to his name.

The Three Lions icon made up for it in his third World Cup, scoring six times in North America so far to push him past the legendary Pele and level with Gerd Muller. 

Gerd Müller (Germany)
1970, 1974

'Der Bomber' was a renowned goalscorer of his generation and took just two World Cup finals to show his finishing prowess, netting 14 times in 13 matches. 

His 10 goals in 1970 saw him take home the Golden Boot and, famously, he scored the winning goal against England in a dramatic 3-2 quarter-final win, as Germany came from 2-0 down to beat the defending champions. 

Four years later, his four goals helped Germany to go all the way to lifting the trophy, with Muller scoring the winner in the final against the Netherlands. 

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15 goals 

Ronaldo (Brazil) 
1998, 2002, 2006 

There's no place for CR7 on this list, but there is a Ronaldo, the original Brazilian Ronaldo, known as 'O Fenômeno' and regarded as one of the game's greatest-ever forwards. 

As a non-playing teenager, R9 was part of the Brazil squad that won the tournament in 1994; however, by the time France '98 rolled around, he was seen as the best player in the world. 

At the finals, he lived up to his billing, scoring four goals as Brazil made it to the final. However, the game was shrouded in controversy when Ronaldo suffered a seizure just before kick-off and although he played, he couldn't prevent the defeat to France. 

The striker made up for it four years later, when his 8 goals saw Brazil get their hands on the trophy once again, with Ronaldo netting twice in the final, before reaching his total of 15 in 2006 with three further goals. 

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16 goals 

Miroslav Klose (Germany)
2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 

When it comes to scoring at a World Cup finals, Germany's Miroslav Klose is second to only one man in history. 

His scoring run began in Japan at the 2002 tournament, where he netted a hat-trick for Rudi Voller's men in an 8-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia, and he didn't stop plundering goals on the game's biggest stage after that. 

There were five in 2002, five more and a Golden Boot in 2006, four in South Africa, before netting two final goals in 2014, where he helped Germany triumph with their fourth World Cup win. 

21 goals

Lionel Messi (Argentina)
2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026

Lionel Messi briefly became the competition's all-time leading scorer in 2026, thanks to a hat-trick in the opening game Stateside and another two goals in Argentina's second match of the tournament. Messi then added a free-kick goal off the bench against Jordan to close the group stage, then scored in each of the round of 32 and round of 16, making him the first player in history to score in nine straight World Cup matches.

His journey began in 2006, when he scored his maiden World Cup strike against Serbia and Montenegro. He came off the bench to rack up an assist and a goal and become the youngest goalscorer for Argentina at a World Cup. 

Messi failed to find the net in South Africa four years later, but went on to net at three further tournaments, including the seven goals he scored in 2022 that saw him finally complete his footballing legacy by winning the competition. 

22 goals

Kylian Mbappe (France)
2018, 2022, 2026 

Mbappe has only appeared at three tournaments, but he's already established himself as the king of the World Cup goal scoring charts

He became France's youngest-ever World Cup scorer, aged 19, when he netted his first finals goal against Peru in 2018 in a tournament where he'd become only the second teenager after Pelé to score in the final. His four goals saw France take home the trophy, but Mbappe was only just getting started. 

In 2022, the striker once again led the French all the way to the final, becoming the first player since Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a hat-trick in the final, taking his tally to eight goals and enough to take home the Golden Boot. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to retain the big one, though.

Four years on, his his 10 goals in eight games were enough to push him past Messi and into the all-time lead at just 27 years old.

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