World Cup 2026: Which Player Has Scored the Most World Cup Goals?

More than 2,700 goals have been scored throughout the history of the World Cup, and they’ve come from almost 1,300 players.

Building up to the World Cup 2026, which gets underway on June 11, we run through the most prolific goalscorers in the history of the tournament. Here are all the players who have scored more than 10 World Cup goals:

Miroslav Klose – Germany (16)

The ultimate World Cup goalscorer, Miroslav Klose found the net at every edition of the tournament between 2002 and 2014 – winning the latter in his final game before international retirement.

Courted by his birth country, Poland, Klose was determined to play for Germany – and he ended up amassing 71 goals in 137 caps.

After hitting a hat-trick in Germany’s 8-0 demolition of Saudi Arabia at his first World Cup, Klose – a classic poacher with excellent aerial ability – top-scored on home soil in 2006 to claim the Golden Boot.

Ronaldo – Brazil (15)

Perhaps the most formidable striker in the world around the turn of the 21^st century, Ronaldo fired Brazil to successive World Cup finals in 1998 and 2002.

After missing his nation’s defeat to France in 1998 following a seizure, R9 returned four years later to score both goals as Brazil beat Germany to lift the World Cup for the fifth time.

Golden Boot winner with eight goals at the 2002 tournament – the most by a Brazilian since Ademir in 1950 – Ronaldo notched his final three World Cup goals in 2006.

Gerd Muller – West Germany (14)

One of the most prolific centre-forwards in the history of the game, Gerd Muller lived up to his nickname of Der Bomber on the world stage, averaging seven goals across his two World Cups.

Muller scored 10 of his 14 World Cup goals en route to the 1970 Golden Boot, before adding four more as West Germany triumphed as hosts in 1974 – most notably the winner against the Netherlands in the final.

The Bayern Munich legend finished his international career with an astonishing record of 68 goals in 62 appearances.

Just Fontaine – France (13)

Just Fontaine’s haul of 13 goals at the 1958 World Cups is one of those football records you feel will never be beaten.

What makes that feat even more extraordinary is that Fontaine scored those goals in just six games – beginning with a hat-trick in a 7-3 drubbing of Paraguay and ending with four as France thrashed West Germany 6-3 in the third place play-off.

Forced to retire aged 28 due to injury, that was Fontaine’s only World Cup – what an almighty mark he left.

Lionel Messi – Argentina (13)

Lionel Messi prepares for his sixth – and, one would assume, last – World Cup with Miroslav Klose’s record in his sights.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner inspired Argentina to glory four years ago as captain, scoring seven goals along the way to more than double his World Cup tally, including a brace in the all-time classic final against France.

Messi has been on target in four World Cups; only one player – his great contemporary, Cristiano Ronaldo – has found the net at five finals.

All Players with 10+ World Cup Goals

Pele – Brazil (12)

The only three-time World Cup winner, Pele spread his 12 goals across the 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970 tournaments.

And the undisputed Brazilian great remains the youngest goalscorer in World Cup history, coming up with the winner in his country’s 1-0 victory over Wales in the 1958 quarter-finals.

Pele never won the Golden Boot but is one of just two players to score in more than one World Cup final – bagging a brace alongside compatriot Vava, the other player in question, as Brazil beat Sweden in 1958 then the opener in victory over Italy 12 years later.

Kylian Mbappe – France (12)

Still only 27, Kylian Mbappe has every chance of surpassing Miroslav Klose as the World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer.

He already holds the record for the most goals in the final – scoring as France defeated Croatia in 2018 then becoming just the second player, after Geoff Hurst, to hit a World Cup final hat-trick last time around, when he won the Golden Boot.

As long as France keep qualifying, one would imagine that the Real Madrid star has at least another two World Cups in him.

Sandor Kocsis – Hungary (11)

A key member of Hungary’s legendary Mighty Magyars side of the 1950s alongside the likes of Ferenc Puskas and Nandor Hidegkuti, Sandor Kocsis racked up 75 goals in 68 international appearances.

He bagged all 11 of his World Cup goals at the 1954 tournament as Hungary enjoyed their best-ever tournament, finishing as runners-up to West Germany.

Collecting the Golden Boot at what proved to be his only World Cup, Kocsis – a two-time LaLiga champion with Barcelona – began the campaign with back-to-back hat-tricks, scoring three of Hungary’s nine goals against South Korea and four of their eight against West Germany in the group stage.

Jurgen Klinsmann – West Germany / Germany (11)

Representing West Germany en route to victory in 1990 and, following reunification, Germany in 1994 and 1998, Jurgen Klinsmann was one of the outstanding World Cup goalscorers of the 90s.

While he never got his hands on the Golden Boot, Klinsmann could always be relied on to find the net, scoring four goals at both the 1990 and 1994 tournaments and a further three in 1998.

In fact, the former Inter Milan, Tottenham and Bayern Munich man struck in all six major international tournaments at which he appeared.