Which Players Have Scored the Most World Cup Goals in History?

Greatness at the World Cup is measured by putting the ball in the net. Nothing else matters. Being relevant as a goal scorer across multiple tournaments is reserved for the best of all time and showcases not only finishing ability but longevity and fitness.

This article profiles the players who have scored the most goals in World Cup history, offering context about their careers and highlighting their greatness. With the exception of a pair of Euros in the 1950s, all of the greats on this list left their mark on multiple World Cups and were not merely flashes in the pan.

Betting odds are from FanDuel Sportsbook's World Cup odds and are subject to change after this article is published.

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World Cup History: Most World Cup Goals of All Time

1st All-Time -- Miroslav Klose, Germany

Ask casual soccer fans about the top World Cup goal scorer of all time, and they'd likely guess it is Pelé. Maybe Maradona. Or maybe they'd think of a current striker like Cristiano Ronaldo.

These answers would all be wrong. In fact, none of these greats even rank in the top-5 all-time in World Cup goal scoring. The German striker Miroslav Klose holds the all-time record with 16 goals scored across 4 World Cup tournaments between 2002 and 2014. The Polish-born Klose announced himself with a hat-trick of headers against Saudi Arabia in 2002 and never looked back.

Klose scored 5 goals at his home World Cup in 2006, added 4 more in 2010, and capped off his international career with 2 goals at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Klose's aerial prowess made him a reliable target for Germany's wingers and full-backs for over a decade. At 6 feet tall with good hops, Klose was always a threat to score, even if smothered by defenders.

Klose's record-breaking strike came in the 2014 semi-final against Brazil in Belo Horizonte, the infamous Mineiraço. Not only did the Germans clap the home team 7-1 that day, but Klose broke the Brazilian Ronaldo's record (not to be confused with Portugal's Ronaldo), taking everything Brazil held dear that day and crushing it.

Klose's total may seem within reach to some. For example, Messi has 13 World Cup goals, but getting 3 or 4 more at his age will be a tall task. Mbappe already has 12 World Cup goals at age 27. He has the best odds of catching Klose of any active player on the pitch. Matching Klose's dominance over 4 tournaments and Germany's continual deep World Cup runs will be difficult, though, even for someone as talented as Mbappe.

2nd All-Time -- Ronaldo, Brazil

Ronaldo Nazario, Brazil's Ronaldo, sits in 2nd place behind Klose with 15 World Cup goals. Ronaldo was on the championship Brazilian squad as a teenager in the 1994 World Cup in the US, but did not play in that tournament. The experience seems to have done the youngster well, though, as Ronaldo exploded with 4 goals and 3 assists in the 1998 World Cup. Brazil reached the final that summer against the host nation France, but fell 3-0 as Ronaldo played while sick in the championship game and was ineffective.

The emerging superstar then battled knee injuries around the turn of century and had to fight hard to get into form for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea. Ronaldo proved rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated, pouring in 8 goals that tournament, including 2 in the final against Germany. He added 3 more goals in his swansong in 2006, bringing his total to 15. This was the record at the time, until it was broken in 2014 by Miroslav Klose, on Brazilian soil no less.

Ronaldo's combination of pace, dribbling, and finishing made him the most feared forward of his era. In his prime, Ronaldo was almost a guaranteed scorer when healthy, and sometimes even when not.

3rd All-Time -- Gerd Müller, West Germany

German legend Gerd Müller ranks 3rd all-time with 14 World Cup goals across just 2 tournaments in 1970 and 1974. His mark of 14 was the best in the world at the time, and would not be broken for over 30 years. Perhaps most impressively, Müller scored his 14 World Cup goals in only 13 matches, blowing both Klose and Ronaldo out of the water in goals per match, despite being overtaken in total scores.

Müller shone in the 1970 World Cup with 10 goals, including back-to-back hat-tricks in the group stage against Bulgaria and Peru. Four years later, in a home World Cup in 1974, Müller added 4 goals, including the winner in the final against the Netherlands, in which West Germany trailed 1-0 early. Müller’s compact frame and instinctive finishing inside the box set the template for modern poachers, plus Germany's attacking style in that era allowed him to accumulate boatloads of chances.

4th All-Time -- Just Fontaine (France) and Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Just Fontaine is tied with Lionel Messi for 4th on the all-time list with 13 goals, but 100% of Fontaine's goals were scored in the 1958 World Cup in 6 matches, while Messi has accumulated his goals over a record 26 matches played. It is truly the opposite ends of the spectrum here in 4th place.

Fontaine's record of 13 goals in a single World Cup set way back in 1958 still stands and gives him the 2nd-highest goals-per-game average in World Cup history (2.17) among those with 5+ goals.

France had a masterful, relentless attack that year, led by Fontaine. In the group stage, the French beat Paraguay 7-3 behind Fontaine's hat trick, lost to Yugoslavia 3-2 (both goals were Fontaine's), and finally beat Scotland 2-1 on a 44th-minute goal by, you guessed it, Just Fontaine. A 4-0 win in the quarterfinals on a pair of Fontaine goals sent the French to the semis, where they would bow to Brazil, the eventual champion, 5-2.

This loss sent France to the 3rd-place game versus West Germany, where Fontaine put together his best scoring game yet. Just Fontaine both opened and capped off the scoring for France in a 6-3 blowout win for the bronze. He also scored twice in the middle for a 4-goal effort, bringing his 1958 World Cup total to a whopping 13 scores. This was an all-time record, breaking the mark set just 4 years prior by Hungary's Sandor Kocsis (11). On only one occasion (Gerd Müller's 10 in 1970) has a player notched double-digit goals in a single World Cup since, and we now have more games than we used to.

Lionel Messi accumulated 13 goals over 5 tournaments from 2006 to 2022, and he's going for more in 2026. Early on in his international career, Messi was used sparingly, scoring just once in 2006 in Germany. He failed to score in 2010 despite Argentina reaching the quarter-finals. Messi's breakthrough came in 2014 when he scored 4 goals in the group stage and led Argentina to the final.

Messi's masterpiece came at the last World Cup in 2022 in Qatar. He scored 7, including 2 in a winning effort in the final against France. Messi's goals are often complemented by assists. He is the World Cup's all-time assist leader with 9. His longevity and influence in international play are second to none in this era of soccer.

6th All-Time -- Kylian Mbappe (France) and Pelé (Brazil)

This is the most star-studded section in an article littered with all-time greats. Tied for 6th in total World Cup goals are Kylian Mbappe, arguably the best active soccer player, and Pelé, arguably the best to ever lace them up.

Mbappe is on a scary pace, already with 12 World Cup goals to his name after just 2 tournaments. He's only 27. He scored 4 in 2018, including 1 in the final in a 4-2 win over Croatia. He then went off for 8 in 2022 to win the Golden Boot, finishing with a hat trick in the final in a losing effort against Argentina. Mbappe is the favorite to once again win the Golden Boot in the USA in 2026.

Mbappe's blistering speed and world-class touch mean he can torch any defense, even a championship-tier World Cup line. His hat trick in the 2022 final demonstrates composure in big moments. He's 27, but acts like a grizzled vet. Mbappe has a realistic chance to challenge Miroslav Klose's record if France advances deep again in 2026.

Pelé, a man many consider to be the GOAT, scored 12 goals in 14 World Cup matches in a career that spanned 4 tournaments. He netted 6 goals in 1958, 1 in 1962 before injury cut him short, another 1 goal in 1966 when he was "Jordan ruled" by opponents who refused to let them beat him, and 4 in 1970. Pele also recorded 10 assists and 3 World Cup titles, making him arguably the most impactful World Cup player ever. His ability to score from distance and create for others made Brazil's attack multidimensional and virtually unstoppable.

Sandor Kocsis -- Most Goals per Match in World Cup History

Hungary's Sandor Kocsis scored 11 goals in his World Cup career, all in 1954 at the games in Switzerland. The Hungarians pounded South Korea 9-0 in their opening match and then continued the party with an 8-3 dismantling of West Germany their next time out. Kocsis scored 3 goals against Korea and then poured in 4 more against the Germans, giving him 7 in just his team's first 2 games. With Hungary's first-place finish in the group already clinched, the Hungarians did not even play a 3rd group-stage game that year, as permitted by the rules at the time.

Awaiting Hungary in the quarter-finals was Brazil, where Kocsis scored 2 more goals in a 4-2 Hungarian victory. The semi-final match against Uruguay went into extra time tied 2-2, with the Uruguayans being the first to keep Kocsis from scoring, that is, until the 111th minute. Sandor Kocsis scored 2 extra-time goals in that match, carrying his team to the finals for a group-stage rematch with West Germany. It was here that someone finally kept Kocsis out of the net. The Germans won the rematch 3-2 on the back of a pair of goals from Helmut Rahn, another player who appears later on this list.

Sandor Kocsis averaged 2.2 goals per match in that World Cup, which was the all-time record at the time. French forward Just Fontaine would break Kocsis' record at the very next World Cup, where he scored 13 goals, but did so less efficiently with 2.17 goals per match. Kocsis' 2.2 goals per match remains the high mark for anyone with at least 5 World Cup goals.

5 Germans All-Time with Double-Digit World Cup Goals

We've already mentioned Miroslav Klose and Gerd Müller's storied World Cup histories, but there is a trio of Germans deserving to be on this list we've yet to discuss. 15 players all-time have amassed double-digit goals at the World Cup. 5 of them are German (either playing for Germany or West Germany).

Jürgen Klinsmann scored 11 times across 3 World Cups (1990, 1994, 1998), playing at first for West Germany and then simply for Germany after the German Democratic Republic was dissolved.

We briefly mentioned German Helmut Rahn in the section on Sandor Kocsis. Rahn scored 10 goals across the 1954 and 1958 World Cups for West Germany, the first of which they won.

Thomas Müller is the most modern German striker on the list, retiring from international play in 2024 after scoring 10 goals for Germany across the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. He played in 13 matches and helped lead Germany to a World Cup title in 2014 in Brazil. Muller was on the roster for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, too, but did not factor into the scoring.

Predicting Future Top World Cup Goal Scorers

As the 2026 World Cup expands to 48 teams, scoring opportunities will increase as the knockout stage adds an additional round. More group games against lower-ranked opponents could also lead to more blowout victories and make the modern game reminiscent of early World Cup tournaments. This would give today's top forwards a chance to rack up goals. However, the increase in games played may lead to managers managing loads and reducing minutes for star strikers in group-stage matches, so things could even themselves out.

The players with the most goals in World Cup history have benefited from a combination of individual brilliance and amazing team quality. If anyone is to break Miroslav Klose's record of 16 World Cup goals, it's likely going to be Kylian Mbappe of France -- who owns the shortest Golden Boot odds for 2026.

Already at 12 goals after just 27 years on this planet and 2 World Cup appearances, Mbappe heads a French squad that is one the top-ranked teams at the 2026 tournament. The sportsbook odds say he'll almost certainly get through to the knockout rounds, meaning he could play up to 8 games this summer, needing only 4 goals to tie and 5 to break Klose's all-time record. That's light work for the odds-on favorite to win the 2026 Golden Boot award.

Who will lead the 2026 World Cup in goals? Here's the Golden Boot odds for 2026 as well as our Golden Boot picks and best bets.

Check out all of our 2026 World Cup content.

Frequently Asked Questions About World Cup Betting

What is the most popular World Cup bet?

Outright winner (who lifts the trophy) is the most popular single futures market. Match-by-match, the moneyline is the most popular individual game bet, followed by total goals over/under.

Does a draw count in World Cup match betting?

Yes, in group stage betting, all three outcomes — home win, draw, away win — are valid results. In knockout stage betting, most markets apply to 90 minutes only, meaning a draw after 90 minutes is a valid result even if extra time and penalties determine the actual winner. Always check FanDuel's market description.

What happens to my bet if a match goes to extra time?

If you bet on a team to "win" the match on FanDuel and the game ends in a draw after 90 minutes, your bet typically loses (for moneyline bets) or voids (for draw no bet markets). The "to advance" market covers extra time and penalties and is a separate bet type.

When is the 2026 World Cup Final?

The final is scheduled for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Who is the favorite to win the 2026 World Cup?

Spain leads the betting board at +450 on FanDuel Sportsbook, followed by France at +550 and England at +650.

Who is defending champion at the 2026 World Cup?

Argentina are the defending champions, having won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in a penalty shootout against France.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.