List of FIFA World Cup top goalscorers

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Players have scored more than 3,000 goals[1] in the 23 men's FIFA World Cup tournaments, the goal record includes own goals scored, but not counting penalty shoot-outs.[2] Since the first goal, by French player Lucien Laurent in 1930,[3] nearly 1,300 footballers have scored goals at the World Cup tournaments,[4][needs update] of whom 111 have scored five or more.

More information Goals, ≥11 ...
Numbers of goals scored[4][5][needs update]
Goals≥11109876 5432 1Total
Nos. of players 11611892739 >60>120>220>750 >1,250
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refer to caption
Kylian Mbappé holds the record at 22 goals.

The top goalscorer of the inaugural competition was Argentina's Guillermo Stábile, with eight goals. Since then, only 28 players have scored more World Cup goals in total than Stábile did during the 1930 tournament. The first to do so was Brazil's Ademir in 1950, with nine goals. This was followed by Hungary's Sándor Kocsis scoring eleven in 1954. At the 1958 tournament, France's Just Fontaine further improved on this record, recording thirteen goals in just six matches. Gerd Müller then scored ten goals for West Germany in 1970, before breaking the overall record when he scored his fourteenth World Cup goal during West Germany's win in the 1974 final. Müller's record stood for more than three decades, until Ronaldo recorded fifteen goals between 1998 and 2006 for Brazil. Germany's Miroslav Klose broke Ronaldo's record with his 16th goal in 2014; his record stood until Argentina's Lionel Messi scored his 17th through 21st goals in 2026. At the same World Cup, France's Kylian Mbappé became the current record holder after scoring his 22nd goal.

Of all the players who have played at the World Cup, only six have achieved an average of two goals or more per match played: Kocsis, Fontaine, Stábile, Russia's Oleg Salenko, Switzerland's Josef Hügi, and Poland's Ernst Wilimowski – the latter of whom scored four in his only ever World Cup match, played in 1938.[6] The top 111 goalscorers have represented 31 nations, with 15 players scoring for both Brazil and Germany or West Germany. In total, 75 footballers came from UEFA (Europe), 31 from CONMEBOL (South America), and only five from elsewhere: Cameroon, Ghana and Senegal from CAF (Africa), Australia from AFC (Asia) (formerly from OFC of Oceania), and the United States from CONCACAF (North/Central America).

Fontaine's thirteen goals in 1958 remains the record for the most scored in a single World Cup tournament. The players that came closest to this tally were Kocsis in 1954 (eleven goals), Müller in 1970 (ten goals), Mbappé in 2026 (ten goals), Brazil's Ademir in 1950 (nine goals) and Portugal's Eusébio in 1966 (nine goals). The top scorers with the fewest goals were from the 1962 tournament, when six players finished joint-top with four goals each. Across the 23 tournaments of the World Cup, 31 footballers have been credited as the tournament top scorer; Mbappé is the only player to achieve this feat twice, in 2022 and 2026. Ten of these players scored at least seven goals in a tournament, while Brazil's Jairzinho in 1970, Argentina's Lionel Messi in 2022 and 2026, and England's Jude Bellingham and Norway's Erling Haaland in 2026 were the only footballers to record at least seven goals but still not finish as the tournament's top scorer. These 31 top goalscorers played for 19 nations, with the most (five) coming from Brazil. Another five came from other South American countries, with the remaining 21 coming from Europe.

Brazil's Leônidas became the first player to score eight goals in knockout matches across his 1934 and 1938 World Cup appearances, a feat that was surpassed by Mbappé in 2026 with a total of twelve (including eight from the previous 2018 and 2022 tournaments).[7] Mbappé became the first player to score four goals in World Cup final matches: he netted one in the 2018 final followed by a hat-trick in the 2022 final. England's Geoff Hurst is the only other player to record a hat-trick in a World Cup final, doing so in 1966.

Overall top goalscorers

As of 19 July 2026.
More information Bold (player), ♦ ...
Table key
Bold (player) Denotes players still active at international level
♦ Denotes national top scorers (or joint top scorers) at the World Cup
[ ] Denotes tournaments where the player was part of the squad, but did not play in a match
( ) Denotes tournaments where the player played in one or more matches, but did not score a goal
Bold (year) Denotes tournaments where the player's team won the World Cup
T Denotes tournaments where the player was top scorer
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More information Rank, Player ...
Players with at least 5 goals at FIFA World Cup tournaments[6][8][9]
Rank Player Team Goals
scored		 Matches
played		 Goals
per
match
[nb 1]		 Tournaments Notes
1 Kylian Mbappé♦  France 22 22 1.00 2018, 2022T, 2026T list[11]
2 Lionel Messi♦  Argentina 21 34 0.62 2006, (2010), 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 list[12][13]
3 Miroslav Klose♦  Germany 16 24 0.67 2002, 2006T, 2010, 2014 list[14]
4 Ronaldo♦  Brazil 15 19 0.79 [1994], 1998, 2002T, 2006 list[15]
5 Gerd Müller  West Germany 14 13 1.08 1970T, 1974 list[16]
Harry Kane♦  England 18 0.78 2018T, 2022, 2026 list[17]
7 Just Fontaine  France 13 6 2.17 1958T list[18]
8 Pelé  Brazil 12 14 0.86 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 list[19]
9 Sándor Kocsis♦  Hungary 11 5 2.20 1954T list[20]
Jürgen Klinsmann  West Germany
 Germany		 17 0.65 1990
1994, 1998		 list[21]
Cristiano Ronaldo♦  Portugal 27 0.41 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 list[12][22]
12 Helmut Rahn  West Germany 10 10 1.00 1954, 1958 list[23]
Gary Lineker  England 12 0.83 1986T, 1990 list[24]
Gabriel Batistuta  Argentina 12 0.83 1994, 1998, 2002 list[25]
Teófilo Cubillas♦  Peru 13 0.77 1970, 1978, (1982) list[26]
Thomas Müller  Germany 19 0.53 2010T, 2014, (2018), (2022) list[27][28]
Grzegorz Lato♦  Poland 20 0.50 1974T, 1978, 1982 list[29]
18 Ademir  Brazil 9 6 1.50 1950T list[nb 2][32]
Eusébio  Portugal 6 1.50 1966T list[33]
Christian Vieri♦  Italy 9 1.00 1998, 2002 list[34]
Vavá  Brazil 10 0.90 1958, 1962T [35]
David Villa♦  Spain 12 0.75 2006, 2010T, 2014 list[36]
Paolo Rossi♦  Italy 14 0.64 1978, 1982T, [1986] list[37]
Neymar  Brazil 15 0.60 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 list[12][38]
Jairzinho  Brazil 16 0.56 (1966), 1970, 1974 list[39]
Roberto Baggio♦  Italy 16 0.56 1990, 1994, 1998 list[40]
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge  West Germany 19 0.47 1978, 1982, 1986 list[41]
Uwe Seeler  West Germany 21 0.43 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 [42]
29 Guillermo Stábile  Argentina 8 4 2.00 1930T list[43]
Leônidas  Brazil 5 1.60 1934, 1938T list[nb 3][45]
Óscar Míguez♦  Uruguay 7 1.14 1950, 1954 [46]
Jude Bellingham  England 13 0.62 2022, 2026 list
Rivaldo  Brazil 14 0.57 1998, 2002 list[47]
Rudi Völler  West Germany
 Germany		 15 0.53 1986, 1990
1994		 list[48]
Romelu Lukaku♦  Belgium 18 0.44 2014, 2018, (2022), 2026 list[49]
Diego Maradona  Argentina 21 0.38 1982, 1986, (1990), 1994 list[50]
37 Erling Haaland♦  Norway 7 5 1.40 2026 list
Oldřich Nejedlý♦  Czechoslovakia 6 1.17 1934T, 1938 [nb 4][51]
Lajos Tichy  Hungary 8 0.88 1958, 1962, [1966] list[52]
Careca  Brazil 9 0.78 1986, 1990 [53]
Johnny Rep♦  Netherlands 13 0.54 1974, 1978 [54]
Andrzej Szarmach  Poland 13 0.54 1974, 1978, 1982 [55]
Hans Schäfer  West Germany 15 0.47 1954, 1958, (1962) [56]
Luis Suárez  Uruguay 16 0.44 2010, 2014, 2018, (2022) list[57][12]
Ivan Perišić♦  Croatia 21 0.33 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 list[12][58]
46 Josef Hügi♦   Switzerland 6 3 2.00 1954 [59]
Oleg Salenko♦  Russia 3 2.00 1994T list[60]
György Sárosi  Hungary 5 1.20 1934, 1938 [61]
Max Morlock  West Germany 5 1.20 1954 [62]
Erich Probst♦  Austria 5 1.20 1954 [63]
Salvatore Schillaci  Italy 7 0.86 1990T list[64]
Davor Šuker  Yugoslavia
 Croatia		 8 0.75 [1990]
1998T, (2002)		 list[65]
Helmut Haller  West Germany 9 0.67 (1962), 1966, (1970) [66]
Cody Gakpo  Netherlands 9 0.67 2022, 2026 list
Hristo Stoichkov♦  Bulgaria 10 0.60 1994T, (1998) list[67]
Diego Forlán  Uruguay 10 0.60 2002, 2010T, (2014) list[68]
Enner Valencia♦  Ecuador 10 0.60 2014, 2022, (2026) list
Asamoah Gyan♦  Ghana 11 0.55 2006, 2010, 2014 list[69]
Bukayo Saka  England 11 0.55 2022, 2026 list
Dennis Bergkamp  Netherlands 12 0.50 1994, 1998 list[70]
Rob Rensenbrink  Netherlands 13 0.46 1974, 1978 [71]
James Rodríguez♦  Colombia 13 0.46 2014T, (2018), (2026) list[72][73]
Rivellino  Brazil 15 0.40 1970, 1974, (1978) [74]
Bebeto  Brazil 15 0.40 (1990), 1994, 1998 list[75]
Arjen Robben  Netherlands 15 0.40 2006, 2010, 2014 list[76]
Zbigniew Boniek  Poland 16 0.38 1978, 1982, (1986) list[77]
Thierry Henry  France 17 0.35 1998, (2002), 2006, (2010) list[78]
Robin van Persie  Netherlands 17 0.35 2006, 2010, 2014 list[79]
Wesley Sneijder  Netherlands 17 0.35 (2006), 2010T, 2014 list[80]
Mario Kempes  Argentina 18 0.33 (1974), 1978T, (1982) list[81]
Ousmane Dembélé  France 19 0.32 (2018), (2022), 2026 list
Lothar Matthäus  West Germany
 Germany		 25 0.24 (1982), 1986, 1990
1994, (1998)		 list[82]
73 Pedro Cea  Uruguay 5 4 1.25 1930 list[83]
Silvio Piola  Italy 4 1.25 1938 list[84]
Gyula Zsengellér  Hungary 4 1.25 1938 [85]
Peter McParland♦  Northern Ireland 5 1.00 1958 list[86]
Tomáš Skuhravý  Czechoslovakia 5 1.00 1990 [87]
Juan Alberto Schiaffino  Uruguay 6 0.83 1950, 1954 [88]
Geoff Hurst  England 6 0.83 1966, 1970 list[89]
Jon Dahl Tomasson♦  Denmark 6 0.83 2002, 2010 list[90]
Kai Havertz  Germany 6 0.83 2022, 2026 list
Alessandro Altobelli  Italy 7 0.71 1982, 1986 [91]
Kennet Andersson♦  Sweden 7 0.71 1994 list[92]
Fernando Morientes  Spain 7 0.71 1998, 2002 list[93]
Romário  Brazil 8 0.63 (1990), 1994 list[94]
Marc Wilmots  Belgium 8 0.63 [1990], (1994), 1998, 2002 list[95]
Mario Mandžukić  Croatia 8 0.63 2014, 2018 list[12][96]
Mikel Oyarzabal  Spain 8 0.63 2026 list
Valentin Ivanov  Soviet Union 9 0.56 1958, 1962T list[97]
Emilio Butragueño  Spain 9 0.56 1986, (1990) list[98]
Roger Milla♦  Cameroon 9 0.56 (1982), 1990, 1994 list[99]
Tim Cahill♦  Australia 9 0.56 2006, 2010, 2014, (2018) list[100][101]
Vinícius Júnior  Brazil 9 0.56 2022, 2026 list
Hans Krankl  Austria 10 0.50 1978, 1982 list[102]
Raúl  Spain 11 0.45 1998, 2002, 2006 list[103]
Ismaïla Sarr♦  Senegal 11 0.45 (2018), 2022, 2026 list
Garrincha  Brazil 12 0.42 (1958), 1962T, 1966 [104]
Johan Neeskens  Netherlands 12 0.42 1974, (1978) [105]
Fernando Hierro  Spain 12 0.42 [1990], 1994, 1998, 2002 list[106]
Zinedine Zidane  France 12 0.42 1998, (2002), 2006 list[107]
Landon Donovan♦  United States 12 0.42 2002, (2006), 2010 list[108]
Xherdan Shaqiri   Switzerland 12 0.42 (2010), 2014, 2018, 2022 list
Henrik Larsson♦  Sweden 13 0.38 1994, 2002, 2006 list[109]
Zico  Brazil 14 0.36 1978, 1982, (1986) [110]
Michel Platini  France 14 0.36 1978, 1982, 1986 list[111]
Gonzalo Higuaín  Argentina 14 0.36 2010, 2014, (2018) list[112][113]
Lukas Podolski  Germany 15 0.33 2006, 2010, (2014) list[114]
Julián Alvarez  Argentina 15 0.33 2022, 2026 list[115]
Edinson Cavani  Uruguay 17 0.29 2010, 2014, 2018, (2022) list[12][116]
Franz Beckenbauer  West Germany 18 0.28 1966, 1970, (1974) list[117]
Olivier Giroud  France 18 0.28 2014, (2018), 2022 list
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Timeline

Note: FIFA recognizes a total of 10 players as having held the all-time World Cup goalscoring record (including jointly), counting from the end of the inaugural tournament in 1930 onwards. The years shown at the bottom indicate World Cup tournaments, except for 1942 and 1946, years in which no tournament was held.[118]

│
1930
│
1934
│
1938
│
1942
│
1946
│
1950
│
1954
│
1958
│
1962
│
1966
│
1970
│
1974
│
1978
│
1982
│
1986
│
1990
│
1994
│
1998
│
2002
│
2006
│
2010
│
2014
│
2018
│
2022
│
2026
│
2030
│
2034
│
2038
│
2042
     Argentina      Brazil      Hungary      France      Germany
Leônidas in 1940, posing for camera with hand at his waist.
Leônidas scored a record eight World Cup goals for Brazil across the 1934 and 1938 tournaments, all of them in knockout matches—a record that stood until 2026.[119]
Portrait photograph of Ademir de Menezes
Ademir scored a record nine World Cup goals for Brazil, all coming at the 1950 tournament.
Sándor Kocsis, dressed in formal jacket and tie.
Sándor Kocsis was the first player to score ten or more goals in a single World Cup: he scored a record eleven goals in just five matches for Hungary during the 1954 tournament.
Just Fontaine in 1958, dressed in football shirt
Just Fontaine scored a record thirteen World Cup goals for France, all coming at the 1958 tournament.
refer to caption
Lionel Messi was the first player to score twenty goals.
More information Key ...
Key
Goal set a new record
Goal equalled the existing record
Close
More information Goals, Date ...
Progressive list of footballers that have held the record for most goals scored in FIFA World Cup final tournaments[nb 5][120]
Goals Date Player Team Goal Opponent Score Tournament, stage Previous goals Ref.
1 13 July 1930 Lucien Laurent  France 1–0 Mexico 4–1 1930, Uruguay
Group stage		 N/A [nb 6]
Bart McGhee  United States 1–0 Belgium 3–0
Marcel Langiller  France 2–0 Mexico 4–1
André Maschinot  France 3–0 Mexico 4–1
Tom Florie  United States 2–0 Belgium 3–0
Bert Patenaude  United States 3–0 Belgium 3–0
Juan Carreño  Mexico 1–3 France 1–4
2 André Maschinot  France 4–1 Mexico 4–1
16 July 1930 Carlos Vidal  Chile 3–0 Mexico 3–0
  • 1930 vs Mexico
 [123]
17 July 1930 Ivan Bek  Yugoslavia 1–0 Bolivia 4–0 [124]
3 3–0
Bert Patenaude  United States 2–0 Paraguay 3–0
  • 1930 vs Belgium, Paraguay
 [125]
4 3–0
22 July 1930 Guillermo Stábile  Argentina 1–0 Chile 3–1 [126]
5 2–0
6 26 July 1930 3–0 United States 6–1 1930, Uruguay
Semi-final
7 6–0
8 30 July 1930 2–1 Uruguay 2–4 1930, Uruguay
Final
19 June 1938 Leônidas  Brazil 3–2 Sweden 4–2 1938, France
Match for third place		 [127]
13 July 1950 Ademir  Brazil 1–0 Spain 6–1 1950, Brazil
Final round		 [32]
9 5–0
27 June 1954 Sándor Kocsis  Hungary 4–2 Brazil 4–2 1954, Switzerland
Quarter-final		 [128]
10 30 June 1954 3–2 Uruguay 4–2 (a.e.t.) 1954, Switzerland
Semi-final
11 4–2
28 June 1958 Just Fontaine  France 3–1 West Germany 6–3 1958, Sweden
Match for third place		 [129]
12 5–2
13 6–3
3 July 1974 Gerd Müller  West Germany 1–0 Poland 1–0 1974, West Germany
Second round		 [16]
14 6 July 1974 2–1 Netherlands 2–1 1974, West Germany
Final
22 June 2006 Ronaldo  Brazil 4–1 Japan 4–1 2006, Germany
Group stage		 [130]
15 27 June 2006 1–0 Ghana 3–0 2006, Germany
Round of 16
21 June 2014 Miroslav Klose  Germany 2–2 Ghana 2–2 2014, Brazil
Group stage		 [131]
16 8 July 2014 2–0 Brazil 7–1 2014, Brazil
Semi-final
16 June 2026 Lionel Messi  Argentina 3–0 Algeria 3–0 2026, Canada-Mexico-United States
Group stage		 [132]
17 22 June 2026 1–0 Austria 2–0
18 2–0
19 27 June 2026 3–1 Jordan 3–1
20 3 July 2026 1–0 Cape Verde 3–2 (a.e.t.) 2026, Canada-Mexico-United States
Round of 32
21 7 July 2026 2–2 Egypt 3–2 2026, Canada-Mexico-United States
Round of 16
18 July 2026 Kylian Mbappé  France 1–4 England 4–6 2026, Canada-Mexico-United States
Match for third place		 [133]
22 3–4
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Gerd Müller
Gerd Müller scored ten goals for West Germany at the 1970 World Cup, and was top goalscorer from 1974 to 2006.
Ronaldo
Ronaldo was top goal scorer from 2006 to 2014, scoring fifteen goals for Brazil, including two in the 2002 final.
Scoring 16 goals for Germany, Miroslav Klose was top goalscorer from 2014 to 2026.
With six goals for Ghana, Asamoah Gyan is the only player outside of Europe or South America to score more than five goals at the World Cup.

Top goalscorers for each tournament

Portrait photograph of Guillermo Stábile
Guillermo Stábile scored a then-record eight goals for Argentina at the 1930 World Cup.
More information † ...
Key
† Denotes the record for the most goals in a single tournament
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More information World Cup, Player ...
Top goalscorers at each FIFA World Cup final tournament[134][135][136]
World Cup Player Team Goals
scored		 Matches
played		 Golden
Boot		 Other FIFA Awards
Uruguay 1930 Guillermo Stábile  Argentina 8 4 Yes Silver Ball
Italy 1934 Oldřich Nejedlý  Czechoslovakia 5 4 Yes Bronze Ball
France 1938 Leônidas  Brazil 7 4 Yes Golden Ball
Brazil 1950 Ademir  Brazil 9 6 Yes Bronze Ball
Switzerland 1954 Sándor Kocsis  Hungary 11 5 Yes Silver Ball
Sweden 1958 Just Fontaine  France 13† 6 Yes Bronze Ball
Chile 1962 Garrincha  Brazil 4 6 Yes Golden Ball
Vavá  Brazil 6 Yes
Leonel Sánchez  Chile 6 Yes Bronze Ball
Flórián Albert  Hungary 3 Yes Best Young Player
Valentin Ivanov  Soviet Union 4 Yes
Dražan Jerković  Yugoslavia 6 Yes
England 1966 Eusébio  Portugal 9 6 Yes Bronze Ball
Mexico 1970 Gerd Müller  West Germany 10 6 Yes Best Young Player, Bronze Ball
West Germany 1974 Grzegorz Lato  Poland 7 7 Yes
Argentina 1978 Mario Kempes  Argentina 6 7 Yes Golden Ball
Spain 1982 Paolo Rossi  Italy 6 7 Yes Golden Ball
Mexico 1986 Gary Lineker  England 6 5 Yes
Italy 1990 Salvatore Schillaci  Italy 6 7 Yes Golden Ball
United States 1994 Hristo Stoichkov  Bulgaria 6 7 Yes Bronze Ball
Oleg Salenko  Russia 3 Yes
France 1998 Davor Šuker  Croatia 6 7 Yes Silver Ball
South Korea & Japan 2002 Ronaldo  Brazil 8 7 Yes Silver Ball
Germany 2006 Miroslav Klose  Germany 5 7 Yes
South Africa 2010 Thomas Müller  Germany 5 6 Yes Best Young Player
David Villa  Spain 7 No Silver Boot, Bronze Ball
Wesley Sneijder  Netherlands 7 No Bronze Boot, Silver Ball
Diego Forlán  Uruguay 7 No Golden Ball
Brazil 2014 James Rodríguez  Colombia 6 5 Yes
Russia 2018 Harry Kane  England 6 6 Yes
Qatar 2022 Kylian Mbappé  France 8 7 Yes Silver Ball
Canada/Mexico/United States 2026 Kylian Mbappé  France 10 8 Yes Bronze Ball
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Goalscorers at multiple tournaments

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to have scored in six World Cups, while Argentina's Lionel Messi has scored in five. Five players (Uwe Seeler, Pelé, Miroslav Klose, Ivan Perišić and Neymar) have each scored in four tournaments, while another 39 have each scored in three.

In the table below players with the same rank are listed in order of achieving their tally.

More information Rank, Player ...
Players who scored at 3 or more World Cups
Rank Player Team Tournaments
with
goals		 Goals
scored		 Matches
played		 Goals
per
match		 Tournaments
with goals
1 Cristiano Ronaldo  Portugal 6 11 27 0.41 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026
2 Lionel Messi  Argentina 5 21 34 0.62 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026
3 Uwe Seeler  West Germany 4 9 21 0.43 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
Pelé  Brazil 12 14 0.86 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
Miroslav Klose  Germany 16 24 0.67 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
Ivan Perišić  Croatia 7 21 0.33 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026
Neymar  Brazil 9 15 0.60 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026
8 Grzegorz Lato  Poland 3 10 20 0.50 1974, 1978, 1982
Joe Jordan  Scotland 4 7 0.57 1974, 1978, 1982
Andrzej Szarmach  Poland 7 13 0.54 1974, 1978, 1982
Dominique Rocheteau  France 4 10 0.40 1978, 1982, 1986
Michel Platini  France 5 14 0.36 1978, 1982, 1986
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge  West Germany 9 19 0.47 1978, 1982, 1986
Julio Salinas  Spain 3 12 0.25 1986, 1990, 1994
Diego Maradona  Argentina 8 21 0.38 1982, 1986, 1994
Rudi Völler  West Germany
 Germany		 8 15 0.53 1986, 1990
1994
Lothar Matthäus  West Germany
 Germany		 6 25 0.24 1986, 1990
1994
Roberto Baggio  Italy 9 16 0.56 1990, 1994, 1998
Jürgen Klinsmann  West Germany
 Germany		 11 17 0.65 1990
1994, 1998
Gabriel Batistuta  Argentina 10 12 0.83 1994, 1998, 2002
Fernando Hierro  Spain 5 12 0.42 1994, 1998, 2002
Sami Al-Jaber  Saudi Arabia 3 9 0.33 1994, 1998, 2006
Raúl  Spain 5 11 0.45 1998, 2002, 2006
Henrik Larsson  Sweden 5 13 0.38 1994, 2002, 2006
Ronaldo  Brazil 15 19 0.79 1998, 2002, 2006
David Beckham  England 3 13 0.23 1998, 2002, 2006
Park Ji-sung  South Korea 3 14 0.21 2002, 2006, 2010
Cuauhtémoc Blanco  Mexico 3 11 0.27 1998, 2002, 2010
Robin van Persie  Netherlands 6 17 0.35 2006, 2010, 2014
Arjen Robben  Netherlands 6 15 0.40 2006, 2010, 2014
Tim Cahill  Australia 5 9 0.56 2006, 2010, 2014
Clint Dempsey  United States 4 10 0.40 2006, 2010, 2014
Asamoah Gyan  Ghana 6 11 0.55 2006, 2010, 2014
David Villa  Spain 9 12 0.75 2006, 2010, 2014
Rafael Márquez  Mexico 3 19 0.16 2006, 2010, 2014
Luis Suárez  Uruguay 7 16 0.44 2010, 2014, 2018
Javier Hernández  Mexico 4 12 0.33 2010, 2014, 2018
Keisuke Honda  Japan 4 10 0.40 2010, 2014, 2018
Edinson Cavani  Uruguay 5 17 0.29 2010, 2014, 2018
Xherdan Shaqiri   Switzerland 5 12 0.42 2014, 2018, 2022
Ángel Di María  Argentina 3 18 0.17 2014, 2018, 2022
Kylian Mbappé  France 22 22 1.00 2018, 2022, 2026
Harry Kane  England 14 18 0.78 2018, 2022, 2026
Granit Xhaka   Switzerland 3 18 0.17 2014, 2018, 2026
Kevin De Bruyne  Belgium 3 18 0.17 2014, 2018, 2026
Romelu Lukaku  Belgium 8 18 0.44 2014, 2018, 2026
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Top goalscorers in knockout matches

The format has varied considerably between different tournaments, resulting in different numbers of knockout matches per tournament. The 1934 and 1938 World Cups were exclusively knockout competitions. The 1950 edition featured no knockout games, as the champion was decided by a final group stage. Four others had very few: 1930 (three), 1974 (two), 1978 (two) and 1982 (four):[7]

  • The 1930 tournament featured only three knockout matches after the group stage, consisting of the two semi-finals and the final.
  • In 1974 and 1978, a second group phase replaced the traditional quarter-finals and semi-finals used from 1954 through 1970, leaving only the final and third-place match as knockout fixtures.
  • The 1982 tournament featured four knockout matches, consisting of the reintroduced semi-final stage alongside the third-place match and final. It also marked the last time a second group phase was used instead of direct knockout rounds after the group stage.
More information Bold (player), ( ) ...
Table key
Bold (player) Denotes players still active at international level
( ) Denotes tournaments where the player played in one or more matches, but did not score a goal
Bold (year) Denotes tournaments where the player's team won the World Cup
Italic (year) Denotes ongoing tournament for the player's team
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More information Rank, Player ...
Players with most goals in FIFA World Cup knockout stages[7]
Rank Player Team Goals scored Matches played Ratio Years
1 Kylian Mbappé  France 14 13 1.08 2018, 2022, 2026
2 Leônidas  Brazil 8 5 1.60 1934, 1938
Ronaldo  Brazil 10 0.80 1998, 2002, 2006
4 Just Fontaine  France 7 3 2.33 1958
Vavá  Brazil 5 1.40 1958, 1962
Oldřich Nejedlý  Czechoslovakia 6 1.17 1934, 1938
Pelé  Brazil 6 1.17 1958, 1970
Lionel Messi  Argentina 17 0.41 (2006), (2010), (2014), (2018), 2022, 2026
9 Eusébio  Portugal 6 3 2.00 1966
György Sárosi  Hungary 5 1.20 1934, 1938
Gary Lineker  England 6 1.00 1986, 1990
Roberto Baggio  Italy 9 0.67 1990, 1994, (1998)
Harry Kane  England 10 0.60 2018, 2022, 2026
14 Gyula Zsengellér  Hungary 5 4 1.25 1938
Silvio Piola  Italy 4 1.25 1938
Helmut Rahn  West Germany 6 0.83 1954, 1958
Zinedine Zidane  France 7 0.71 1998, 2006
Thomas Müller  Germany 7 0.71 2010, 2014
Jude Bellingham  England 7 0.71 (2022), 2026
Wesley Sneijder  Netherlands 8 0.63 (2006), 2010, 2014
Miroslav Klose  Germany 14 0.36 (2002), 2006, 2010, 2014
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Top goalscorers in final matches

Main article: List of FIFA World Cup final goalscorers
More information Rank, Player ...
Players with multiple goals in FIFA World Cup Finals
Rank Player Team Goals scored Final matches
Played Scored in Years
1 Kylian Mbappé  France 4 2 2 2018, 2022 (3)
2 Geoff Hurst  England 3 1 1 1966 (3)
Vavá  Brazil 2 2 1958 (2), 1962
Pelé  Brazil 2 2 1958 (2), 1970
Zinedine Zidane  France 2 2 1998 (2), 2006
6 Gino Colaussi  Italy 2 1 1 1938 (2)
Silvio Piola  Italy 1 1 1938 (2)
Helmut Rahn  West Germany 1 1 1954 (2)
Mario Kempes  Argentina 1 1 1978 (2)
Paul Breitner  West Germany 2 2 1974, 1982
Ronaldo  Brazil 2 1 (1998), 2002 (2)
Lionel Messi  Argentina 3 1 (2014), 2022 (2), (2026)
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  • Bold indicates winning final
  • Parentheses around a year indicates no goals scored

See also

Notes

  1. [1]
    Outside this list is Ernst Wilimowski of Poland, the player with the highest goals-to-games ratio in the World Cup. His ratio is 4.00 as he scored four goals in his only World Cup appearance, in 1938.[10]
  2. [2]
    There was a controversy regarding the number of goals scored by Ademir in 1950 because of incomplete data from the final group round game against Spain, that ended in a 6–1 victory for Brazil. The first Brazilian goal was credited as own goal and the fifth was credited to Jair,[30] but both are now credited to Ademir.[31]
  3. [3]
    FIFA initially credited Leônidas with eight goals in the 1938 tournament, but in November 2006, FIFA revised it to seven (he scored one additional goal in the 1934 tournament).[44]
  4. [4]
    FIFA initially credited Nejedlý with only four goals in 1934. However, FIFA changed it to five goals in November 2006, meaning he scored a total of seven goals overall (he scored two goals in 1938).[44]
  5. [5]
    The progressive record for most goals scored in a single final tournament comprises all the entries as far as Just Fontaine in 1958, excluding Leônidas in 1938, since the others each scored all their goals within a single tournament.
  6. [6]
    The two initial games of the 1930 FIFA World Cup (France vs Mexico[121] and United States vs Belgium[122]) were played at the same time, as seven players scored, with André Maschinot scoring two goals. The order in which these players are listed reflects the actual elapsed time in the games when their goals were scored.

References

External links

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