List of FIFA World Cup top goalscorers
Men's FIFA World Cup top goalscorers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A total of over 3,000 goals[1] have been scored in matches across the 23 final tournaments of the men's FIFA World Cup, not counting penalties scored during shoot-outs.[2] Since the first goal scored by French player Lucien Laurent in 1930,[3] nearly 1,300 footballers have scored goals at the World Cup tournaments,[4] of whom 108 have scored five or more.

The top goalscorer of the inaugural competition was Argentina's Guillermo Stábile, with eight goals. Since then, only 27 players have scored more World Cup goals in total than Stábile did during the 1930 tournament. The first to do so was Hungary's Sándor Kocsis, scoring eleven in 1954. At the following tournament, France's Just Fontaine 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 the current record holder, Argentina's Lionel Messi, scored his 17th through 21st goals in 2026.
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 108 goalscorers have represented 31 nations, with 15 players scoring for both Brazil and Germany or West Germany. In total, 73 footballers came from UEFA (Europe), 30 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), 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 just four goals each. Across the 22 tournaments of the World Cup, 31 footballers have been credited as the tournament top scorer, and no one has achieved this feat twice. Ten of these players scored at least seven goals in a tournament, while Brazil's Jairzinho in 1970 and Argentina's Lionel Messi in 2022 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.
In 2006, Ronaldo became the first player to score eight goals in knockout matches (excluding the match for third place) at the World Cup, coming in his three tournaments for Brazil, a feat which would be equalled in 2022 by France's Kylian Mbappé.[7] Mbappé himself 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 10 July 2026.
| 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 |
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals scored |
Matches played |
Goals per match [nb 1] |
Tournaments | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi♦ | 21 | 31 | 0.68 | 2006, (2010), 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 | list[11][12] | |
| 2 | Kylian Mbappé♦ | 20 | 20 | 1.00 | 2018, 2022T, 2026 | list | |
| 3 | Miroslav Klose♦ | 16 | 24 | 0.67 | 2002, 2006T, 2010, 2014 | list[13] | |
| 4 | Ronaldo♦ | 15 | 19 | 0.79 | [1994], 1998, 2002T, 2006 | list[14] | |
| 5 | Gerd Müller | 14 | 13 | 1.08 | 1970T, 1974 | list[15] | |
| Harry Kane♦ | 16 | 0.88 | 2018T, 2022, 2026 | list[16] | |||
| 7 | Just Fontaine | 13 | 6 | 2.17 | 1958T | list[17] | |
| 8 | Pelé | 12 | 14 | 0.86 | 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 | list[18] | |
| 9 | Sándor Kocsis♦ | 11 | 5 | 2.20 | 1954T | list[19] | |
| Jürgen Klinsmann | 17 | 0.65 | 1990 1994, 1998 |
list[20] | |||
| Cristiano Ronaldo♦ | 27 | 0.41 | 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 | list[11][21] | |||
| 12 | Helmut Rahn | 10 | 10 | 1.00 | 1954, 1958 | list[22] | |
| Gary Lineker | 12 | 0.83 | 1986T, 1990 | list[23] | |||
| Gabriel Batistuta | 12 | 0.83 | 1994, 1998, 2002 | list[24] | |||
| Teófilo Cubillas♦ | 13 | 0.77 | 1970, 1978, (1982) | list[25] | |||
| Thomas Müller | 19 | 0.53 | 2010T, 2014, (2018), (2022) | list[26][27] | |||
| Grzegorz Lato♦ | 20 | 0.50 | 1974T, 1978, 1982 | list[28] | |||
| 18 | Ademir | 9 | 6 | 1.50 | 1950T | list[nb 2][31] | |
| Eusébio | 6 | 1.50 | 1966T | list[32] | |||
| Christian Vieri♦ | 9 | 1.00 | 1998, 2002 | list[33] | |||
| Vavá | 10 | 0.90 | 1958, 1962T | [34] | |||
| David Villa♦ | 12 | 0.75 | 2006, 2010T, 2014 | list[35] | |||
| Paolo Rossi♦ | 14 | 0.64 | 1978, 1982T, [1986] | list[36] | |||
| Neymar | 15 | 0.60 | 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 | list[11][37] | |||
| Jairzinho | 16 | 0.56 | (1966), 1970, 1974 | list[38] | |||
| Roberto Baggio♦ | 16 | 0.56 | 1990, 1994, 1998 | list[39] | |||
| Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | 19 | 0.47 | 1978, 1982, 1986 | list[40] | |||
| Uwe Seeler | 21 | 0.43 | 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 | [41] | |||
| 29 | Guillermo Stábile | 8 | 4 | 2.00 | 1930T | list[42] | |
| Leônidas | 5 | 1.60 | 1934, 1938T | list[nb 3][44] | |||
| Óscar Míguez♦ | 7 | 1.14 | 1950, 1954 | [45] | |||
| Rivaldo | 14 | 0.57 | 1998, 2002 | list[46] | |||
| Rudi Völler | 15 | 0.53 | 1986, 1990 1994 |
list[47] | |||
| Romelu Lukaku♦ | 18 | 0.44 | 2014, 2018, (2022), 2026 | list[48] | |||
| Diego Maradona | 21 | 0.38 | 1982, 1986, (1990), 1994 | list[49] | |||
| 36 | Erling Haaland♦ | 7 | 4 | 1.75 | 2026 | list | |
| Oldřich Nejedlý♦ | 6 | 1.17 | 1934T, 1938 | [nb 4][50] | |||
| Lajos Tichy | 8 | 0.88 | 1958, 1962, [1966] | list[51] | |||
| Careca | 9 | 0.78 | 1986, 1990 | [52] | |||
| Johnny Rep♦ | 13 | 0.54 | 1974, 1978 | [53] | |||
| Andrzej Szarmach | 13 | 0.54 | 1974, 1978, 1982 | [54] | |||
| Hans Schäfer | 15 | 0.47 | 1954, 1958, (1962) | [55] | |||
| Luis Suárez | 16 | 0.44 | 2010, 2014, 2018, (2022) | list[56][11] | |||
| Ivan Perišić♦ | 21 | 0.33 | 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 | list[11][57] | |||
| 45 | Josef Hügi♦ | 6 | 3 | 2.00 | 1954 | [58] | |
| Oleg Salenko♦ | 3 | 2.00 | 1994T | list[59] | |||
| György Sárosi | 5 | 1.20 | 1934, 1938 | [60] | |||
| Max Morlock | 5 | 1.20 | 1954 | [61] | |||
| Erich Probst♦ | 5 | 1.20 | 1954 | [62] | |||
| Salvatore Schillaci | 7 | 0.86 | 1990T | list[63] | |||
| Davor Šuker | 8 | 0.75 | [1990] 1998T, (2002) |
list[64] | |||
| Helmut Haller | 9 | 0.67 | (1962), 1966, (1970) | [65] | |||
| Cody Gakpo | 9 | 0.67 | 2022, 2026 | list | |||
| Hristo Stoichkov♦ | 10 | 0.60 | 1994T, (1998) | list[66] | |||
| Diego Forlán | 10 | 0.60 | 2002, 2010T, (2014) | list[67] | |||
| Enner Valencia♦ | 10 | 0.60 | 2014, 2022, (2026) | list | |||
| Asamoah Gyan♦ | 11 | 0.55 | 2006, 2010, 2014 | list[68] | |||
| Dennis Bergkamp | 12 | 0.50 | 1994, 1998 | list[69] | |||
| Rob Rensenbrink | 13 | 0.46 | 1974, 1978 | [70] | |||
| James Rodríguez♦ | 13 | 0.46 | 2014T, (2018), (2026) | list[71][72] | |||
| Rivellino | 15 | 0.40 | 1970, 1974, (1978) | [73] | |||
| Bebeto | 15 | 0.40 | (1990), 1994, 1998 | list[74] | |||
| Arjen Robben | 15 | 0.40 | 2006, 2010, 2014 | list[75] | |||
| Zbigniew Boniek | 16 | 0.38 | 1978, 1982, (1986) | list[76] | |||
| Thierry Henry | 17 | 0.35 | 1998, (2002), 2006, (2010) | list[77] | |||
| Robin van Persie | 17 | 0.35 | 2006, 2010, 2014 | list[78] | |||
| Wesley Sneijder | 17 | 0.35 | (2006), 2010T, 2014 | list[79] | |||
| Mario Kempes | 18 | 0.33 | (1974), 1978T, (1982) | list[80] | |||
| Lothar Matthäus | 25 | 0.24 | (1982), 1986, 1990 1994, (1998) |
list[81] | |||
| 70 | Pedro Cea | 5 | 4 | 1.25 | 1930 | list[82] | |
| Silvio Piola | 4 | 1.25 | 1938 | list[83] | |||
| Gyula Zsengellér | 4 | 1.25 | 1938 | [84] | |||
| Peter McParland♦ | 5 | 1.00 | 1958 | list[85] | |||
| Tomáš Skuhravý | 5 | 1.00 | 1990 | [86] | |||
| Juan Alberto Schiaffino | 6 | 0.83 | 1950, 1954 | [87] | |||
| Geoff Hurst | 6 | 0.83 | 1966, 1970 | list[88] | |||
| Jon Dahl Tomasson♦ | 6 | 0.83 | 2002, 2010 | list[89] | |||
| Kai Havertz | 6 | 0.83 | 2022, 2026 | list | |||
| Alessandro Altobelli | 7 | 0.71 | 1982, 1986 | [90] | |||
| Kennet Andersson♦ | 7 | 0.71 | 1994 | list[91] | |||
| Fernando Morientes | 7 | 0.71 | 1998, 2002 | list[92] | |||
| Romário | 8 | 0.63 | (1990), 1994 | list[93] | |||
| Marc Wilmots | 8 | 0.63 | [1990], (1994), 1998, 2002 | list[94] | |||
| Mario Mandžukić | 8 | 0.63 | 2014, 2018 | list[11][95] | |||
| Valentin Ivanov | 9 | 0.56 | 1958, 1962T | list[96] | |||
| Emilio Butragueño | 9 | 0.56 | 1986, (1990) | list[97] | |||
| Roger Milla♦ | 9 | 0.56 | (1982), 1990, 1994 | list[98] | |||
| Tim Cahill♦ | 9 | 0.56 | 2006, 2010, 2014, (2018) | list[99][100] | |||
| Vinícius Júnior | 9 | 0.56 | 2022, 2026 | list | |||
| Hans Krankl | 10 | 0.50 | 1978, 1982 | list[101] | |||
| Jude Bellingham | 10 | 0.50 | 2022, 2026 | list | |||
| Raúl | 11 | 0.45 | 1998, 2002, 2006 | list[102] | |||
| Ismaïla Sarr♦ | 11 | 0.45 | (2018), 2022, 2026 | list | |||
| Garrincha | 12 | 0.42 | (1958), 1962T, 1966 | [103] | |||
| Johan Neeskens | 12 | 0.42 | 1974, (1978) | [104] | |||
| Fernando Hierro | 12 | 0.42 | [1990], 1994, 1998, 2002 | list[105] | |||
| Zinedine Zidane | 12 | 0.42 | 1998, (2002), 2006 | list[106] | |||
| Landon Donovan♦ | 12 | 0.42 | 2002, (2006), 2010 | list[107] | |||
| Xherdan Shaqiri | 12 | 0.42 | (2010), 2014, 2018, 2022 | list | |||
| Henrik Larsson♦ | 13 | 0.38 | 1994, 2002, 2006 | list[108] | |||
| Michel Platini | 14 | 0.36 | 1978, 1982, 1986 | list[109] | |||
| Zico | 14 | 0.36 | 1978, 1982, (1986) | [110] | |||
| Gonzalo Higuaín | 14 | 0.36 | 2010, 2014, (2018) | list[111][112] | |||
| Lukas Podolski | 15 | 0.33 | 2006, 2010, (2014) | list[113] | |||
| Edinson Cavani | 17 | 0.29 | 2010, 2014, 2018, (2022) | list[11][114] | |||
| Ousmane Dembélé | 17 | 0.29 | (2018), (2022), 2026 | list | |||
| Franz Beckenbauer | 18 | 0.28 | 1966, 1970, (1974) | list[115] | |||
| Olivier Giroud | 18 | 0.28 | 2014, (2018), 2022 | list |
Timeline




| Key | |
|---|---|
| Goal set a new record | |
| Goal equalled the existing record | |




Top goalscorers for each tournament

| † | Denotes the record for the most goals in a single tournament |
|---|
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 37 have each scored in three.
In the table below players with the same rank are listed in order of achieving their tally.
| Rank | Player | Team | Tournaments with goals |
Goals scored |
Matches played |
Goals per match |
Tournaments with goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 6 | 11 | 27 | 0.41 | 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 | |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | 5 | 21 | 31 | 0.68 | 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 | |
| 3 | Uwe Seeler | 4 | 9 | 21 | 0.43 | 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 | |
| Pelé | 12 | 14 | 0.86 | 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 | |||
| Miroslav Klose | 16 | 24 | 0.67 | 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 | |||
| Ivan Perišić | 7 | 21 | 0.33 | 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 | |||
| Neymar | 9 | 15 | 0.60 | 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 | |||
| 8 | Grzegorz Lato | 3 | 10 | 20 | 0.50 | 1974, 1978, 1982 | |
| Joe Jordan | 4 | 7 | 0.57 | 1974, 1978, 1982 | |||
| Andrzej Szarmach | 7 | 13 | 0.54 | 1974, 1978, 1982 | |||
| Dominique Rocheteau | 4 | 10 | 0.40 | 1978, 1982, 1986 | |||
| Michel Platini | 5 | 14 | 0.36 | 1978, 1982, 1986 | |||
| Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | 9 | 19 | 0.47 | 1978, 1982, 1986 | |||
| Diego Maradona | 8 | 21 | 0.38 | 1982, 1986, 1994 | |||
| Rudi Völler | 8 | 15 | 0.53 | 1986, 1990 1994 | |||
| Lothar Matthäus | 6 | 25 | 0.24 | 1986, 1990 1994 | |||
| Roberto Baggio | 9 | 16 | 0.56 | 1990, 1994, 1998 | |||
| Jürgen Klinsmann | 11 | 17 | 0.65 | 1990 1994, 1998 | |||
| Gabriel Batistuta | 10 | 12 | 0.83 | 1994, 1998, 2002 | |||
| Fernando Hierro | 5 | 12 | 0.42 | 1994, 1998, 2002 | |||
| Sami Al-Jaber | 3 | 9 | 0.33 | 1994, 1998, 2006 | |||
| Raúl | 5 | 11 | 0.45 | 1998, 2002, 2006 | |||
| Henrik Larsson | 5 | 13 | 0.38 | 1994, 2002, 2006 | |||
| Ronaldo | 15 | 19 | 0.79 | 1998, 2002, 2006 | |||
| David Beckham | 3 | 13 | 0.23 | 1998, 2002, 2006 | |||
| Park Ji-sung | 3 | 14 | 0.21 | 2002, 2006, 2010 | |||
| Cuauhtémoc Blanco | 3 | 11 | 0.27 | 1998, 2002, 2010 | |||
| Robin van Persie | 6 | 17 | 0.35 | 2006, 2010, 2014 | |||
| Arjen Robben | 6 | 15 | 0.40 | 2006, 2010, 2014 | |||
| Tim Cahill | 5 | 9 | 0.56 | 2006, 2010, 2014 | |||
| Clint Dempsey | 4 | 10 | 0.40 | 2006, 2010, 2014 | |||
| Asamoah Gyan | 6 | 11 | 0.55 | 2006, 2010, 2014 | |||
| David Villa | 9 | 12 | 0.75 | 2006, 2010, 2014 | |||
| Rafael Márquez | 3 | 19 | 0.16 | 2006, 2010, 2014 | |||
| Luis Suárez | 7 | 16 | 0.44 | 2010, 2014, 2018 | |||
| Javier Hernández | 4 | 12 | 0.33 | 2010, 2014, 2018 | |||
| Keisuke Honda | 4 | 10 | 0.40 | 2010, 2014, 2018 | |||
| Edinson Cavani | 5 | 17 | 0.29 | 2010, 2014, 2018 | |||
| Xherdan Shaqiri | 5 | 12 | 0.42 | 2014, 2018, 2022 | |||
| Ángel Di María | 3 | 18 | 0.17 | 2014, 2018, 2022 | |||
| Kylian Mbappé | 20 | 20 | 1.00 | 2018, 2022, 2026 | |||
| Harry Kane | 14 | 16 | 0.88 | 2018, 2022, 2026 | |||
| Kevin De Bruyne | 3 | 18 | 0.17 | 2014, 2018, 2026 | |||
| Romelu Lukaku | 8 | 18 | 0.44 | 2014, 2018, 2026 |
Top goalscorers in knockout matches
| 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 |
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals scored | Matches played | Ratio | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kylian Mbappé | 12 | 11 | 1.09 | 2018, 2022, 2026 | |
| 2 | Leônidas | 8 | 5 | 1.60 | 1934, 1938 | |
| Ronaldo | 10 | 0.80 | 1998, 2002, 2006 | |||
| 4 | Just Fontaine | 7 | 3 | 2.33 | 1958 | |
| Vavá | 5 | 1.40 | 1958, 1962 | |||
| Oldřich Nejedlý | 6 | 1.17 | 1934, 1938 | |||
| Pelé | 1958, 1970 | |||||
| Lionel Messi | 14 | 0.50 | (2006), (2010), (2014), (2018), 2022, 2026 | |||
| 9 | Eusébio | 6 | 3 | 2.00 | 1966 | |
| György Sárosi | 5 | 1.20 | 1934, 1938 | |||
| Gary Lineker | 6 | 1.00 | 1986, 1990 | |||
| Harry Kane | 8 | 0.75 | 2018, 2022, 2026 | |||
| Roberto Baggio | 9 | 0.67 | 1990, 1994, (1998) | |||
| 14 | Gyula Zsengellér | 5 | 4 | 1.25 | 1938 | |
| Silvio Piola | 1938 | |||||
| Helmut Rahn | 6 | 0.83 | 1954, 1958 | |||
| Zinedine Zidane | 7 | 0.71 | 1998, 2006 | |||
| Thomas Müller | 2010, 2014 | |||||
| Wesley Sneijder | 8 | 0.63 | (2006), 2010, 2014 | |||
| Miroslav Klose | 14 | 0.36 | (2002), 2006, 2010, 2014 |
Top goalscorers in final matches
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals scored | Final matches | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Scored in | Years | ||||
| 1 | Kylian Mbappé | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2018, 2022 (3) | |
| 2 | Geoff Hurst | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1966 (3) | |
| Vavá | 2 | 2 | 1958 (2), 1962 | |||
| Pelé | 2 | 2 | 1958 (2), 1970 | |||
| Zinedine Zidane | 2 | 2 | 1998 (2), 2006 | |||
| 6 | Gino Colaussi | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1938 (2) | |
| Silvio Piola | 1 | 1 | 1938 (2) | |||
| Helmut Rahn | 1 | 1 | 1954 (2) | |||
| Mario Kempes | 1 | 1 | 1978 (2) | |||
| Paul Breitner | 2 | 2 | 1974, 1982 | |||
| Ronaldo | 2 | 1 | (1998), 2002 (2) | |||
| Lionel Messi | 2 | 1 | (2014), 2022 (2) | |||
- Bold indicates winning final
- Parentheses around a year indicates no goals scored
See also
Notes
- 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]
- 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,[29] but both are now credited to Ademir.[30]
- 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).[43]
- 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.
- The two initial games of the 1930 FIFA World Cup (France vs Mexico[118] and United States vs Belgium[119]) 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.