FIFA World Cup top scorers: Miroslav Klose leads illustrious list ahead of greats like Pele, Diego Maradona

Football is all about goals and the FIFA World Cup is no different.

Across the 22 editions of the men's FIFA World Cup held so far, a whopping 2,720 goals have been scored by over 1,300 different players. However, only 16 players have managed to score 10 goals or more in the history of the tournament.

Here’s a look at the top goal scorers in FIFA World Cup.

Most FIFA World Cup goals

Miroslav Klose (Germany) - 16 goals in 24 matches

German striker Miroslav Klose holds the record for most FIFA World Cup goals in history, having scored 16 times in 24 appearances across four editions (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014).

Though far from the most famous name on this list, what made Klose special was his staggering consistency at every football World Cup he played and his longevity in the game, which enabled him to play four different editions. He was 36-years-old during his last World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

Miroslav Klose scored a hat-trick on his FIFA World Cup debut in 2002 as Germany drubbed Saudi Arabia 8-0 in their group opener at the Sapporo Dome in Japan. He finished his maiden World Cup with five goals, three behind top scorer Brazilian Ronaldo, as Germany finished runners up losing to Brazil in the final.

With Germany hosting the 2006 World Cup, Miroslav Klose, once again, notched up five goals but this time it was enough to win him the Golden Boot (award for tournament top scorer). Germany, however, only finished third.

The 2010 edition also saw the Germans finish third as Klose raked up four more goals to his name - one less than the four joint top scorers from that edition. In what was a perfect swansong for the ace striker, he contributed two goals during Germany’s FIFA World Cup trophy-winning campaign at Brazil 2014.

The goal which handed him the record for most goals scored in the FIFA World Cup came against Brazil in the semi-finals as the German team stunned the hosts 7-1. Miroslav Klose’s goal in the match took him past Brazil’s Ronaldo, who held the record previously.

Ronaldo (Brazil) - 15 goals in 19 matches

Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, more popularly known as Ronaldo, is second on the list of the highest goalscorers in the FIFA World Cup with 15 goals in 19 outings.

Ronaldo was in the Brazil squad for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA and Mexico. However with the legendary duo Romario and Bebeto leading Brazil’s frontline at the tournament, the then 17-year-old didn’t get any game.

Four years later, at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, Ronaldo, who is regarded as one of the greatest strikers to have ever graced the game, provided glimpses of his brilliance.

Ronaldo’s four goals in France were pivotal to Brazil making the final but with the striker contracting a fever just before the summit clash, Brazil lost the decider to the host nation.

At the 2002 edition held in Japan and South Korea, though, there was no stopping the burly striker as Ronaldo fired in eight times to guide Brazil to the title and clinch the Golden Boot.

By the time the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany rolled in, Ronaldo’s career was on a downward trajectory with injuries and fitness issues catching up with the ace striker. He still managed three goals from the tournament before Brazil were ousted by the hosts in the quarter-finals. It was just enough to get him past German legend Gerd Muller, who had been leading the charts since 1974.

Gerd Muller (Germany) - 14 goals in 13 matches

Gerd Muller, though, managed his 14 FIFA World Cup goals in just 13 matches, spanning across only two editions.

Ten of these, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Hungary and Peru in the group stages, came at the 1970 World Cup. Muller ended up winning the Golden Boot but his team failed to make it past the semi-finals with Italy ending their title charge despite Muller’s brace in the match.

The 1974 edition in Germany, however, saw Muller lift the FIFA World Cup trophy and though he didn’t win the Golden Boot this time around, he top-scored for his team with four goals, which included the all-important winner in a 2-1 triumph over the Netherlands in the final.

All 14 of Gerd Muller’s goals at the FIFA World Cups, interestingly, were scored from inside the penalty box. Half of these came from inside the six-yard box!

Just Fontaine (France) - 13 goals in six matches

French striker Just Fontaine finds his name in the illustrious list despite only featuring in a single FIFA World Cup edition - 1958 in Sweden.

Fontaine scored in every single match France played in, including a hat-trick on his World Cup debut against Paraguay and four goals in the third-place playoff vs Germany - the final World Cup match he’d ever play.

France’s title hopes in that edition ended at the hands of eventual champions Brazil in the semi-finals but Fontaine still managed one of the two goals the Les Bleus managed in the 5-2 defeat.

Injuries curtailed Just Fontaine’s career and he was forced to retire at the age of 28, which meant he would never reappear on the World Cup stage again.

But his 13 goals in 1958 still stands as the record for most goals scored by a player in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup.

Lionel Messi (Argentina) - 13 goals in 26 matches

Having come into the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar with only six goals in 19 matches, Lionel Messi was way down the list. But an inspirational campaign, which saw the Argentine score seven in seven to lead his time the title, saw him rapidly climb the table.

Furthermore, heading into Qatar 2022, all of Lionel Messi's six goals had come in the group stage. The trend changed with the talismanic Argentinian scoring in each of the four knockout rounds, becoming the first player to do so in World Cup history. Two of his seven goals at Qatar 2022 came in the final against France.

Pele (Brazil) - 12 goals in 14 matches

Fontaine’s incredible scoring run at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden was perhaps overshadowed by the emergence of one 17-year Brazilian, Pele.

Even though he was recovering from a knee injury when the 1958 FIFA World Cup started, the teenager made the Brazil squad. He didn’t play in Brazil’s first two games but made his World Cup debut against the Soviet Union in the final group fixture, making him the youngest player to play a World Cup match at the time.

Pele didn’t score on debut but managed an assist. The soon-to-be Brazilian great opened his tally with a match-winning goal against Wales in the quarter-finals, making him the youngest player in history to score in a FIFA World Cup match.

In the semi-finals, against Fontaine’s France, Pele proved to be the difference with three goals, which made him the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the quadrennial meet.

In the final against hosts Sweden, Pele chipped in with a brace, becoming the youngest goalscorer in a World Cup final.

Pele is no longer the youngest player to play in a World Cup match but all three of his scoring records still stand.

After his six goals on his debut World Cup, Pele helped Brazil win two more titles in 1962 and 1970, with only England denying the Selecaos in the 1966 edition.

Pele chipped in with six more goals and finished with 12 goals in 14 matches across four editions, placing him fifth on the list of most World Cup goals.

Though he never won the coveted Golden Boot in any of the editions, no other player in the history of football has managed to win the World Cup thrice like Pele did.

Kylian Mbappe (France) - 12 goals in 14 matches

France's Kylian Mbappe boasts an identical record to Pele but took only two World Cups (Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022). The French striker scored four times in his maiden World Cup in Russia, including one in the final against Croatia, to guide his team to the title.

His Golden Boot-winning effort of eight goals in Qatar 2022, however, fell short as he ended up on the losing side in the final. Mbappe almost singlehandedly kept France in the game against Lionel Messi's Argentina but Les Bleus eventually lost it 4-2 in the penalty shootout after the match ended at 3-3 after Extra Time. Mbappe's hat-trick in the match is only the second hat-trick ever in a World Cup final after Geoff Hurst's treble for England in a winning campaign back in 1966.

Best of the rest in the men's football World Cup scoring charts

Two players, Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis and German legend Jurgen Klinsmann, have scored 11 goals each. Kocsis, interestingly, scored all his goals in the 1954 FIFA World Cup, while Klinsmann took three editions to hit the mark.

A total of six players, including Argentina ace Gabriel Batistuta, England’s Gary Lineker and Germany’s Thomas Muller, have scored 10 goals in FIFA World Cups.

Among the greats, Argentinian legend Diego Maradona scored eight goals in 21 FIFA World Cup matches, played across three editions (1982, 1986 and 1994). Five of these came at Mexico 1986, where Maradona famously won Argentina the World Cup almost single-handedly.