At one time or another, most of the greatest goalscorers of all time have brought their abilities to bear at the FIFA World Cup.
The 2026 tournament in North America will once again bring Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to the biggest stage, perhaps for the final time.
Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane are other leading superstars with superb international records, but the World Cup’s leading scorer charts are also a place where a cult hero can sit comfortably.
As Messi and Ronaldo contest their record sixth tournaments, where do they and other giants of the game sit in the list of all-time top scorers at the World Cup?
MORE: Ranking the 11 greatest FIFA World Cup tournaments by an individual player
Who is the all-time top scorer in World Cup history?
Argentina attacker Lionel Messi moved past Germany’s Miroslav Klose against Austria at the 2026 World Cup. Messi’s stunning hat-trick in Argentina’s opening 2026 win over Algeria put him level with Klose at the top of the historical rankings. Before Messi’s goal on June 22, Germany striker Miroslav Klose was the outright leading scorer in World Cup history, with 16 goals across four tournaments.
Die Mannschaft have had more celebrated strikers, such as Gerd Muller and Jurgen Klinsmann, who also feature on this list. Former Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Lazio striker Klose was never considered among the leading strikers in the world during a long and distinguished playing career.
But he proved to be a major tournament specialist, beginning with a hat-trick on his tournament debut against Saudi Arabia in 2002 and signing off with World Cup glory in 2014, having netted his 16th and final tournament goal in Germany’s 7-1 semifinal rout of hosts Brazil.
List of all-time top scorers at the World Cup
| Rank | Player | Country | Goals | Matches | Tournaments (WC wins in bold) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 17 | 28 | 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 |
| 2. | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 | 24 | 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 |
| 3. | Ronaldo | Brazil | 15 | 19 | 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 |
| 4. | Gerd Muller | West Germany | 14 | 13 | 1970, 1974 |
| = | Kylian Mbappe* | France | 14 | 15 | 2018, 2022, 2026 |
| 6. | Just Fontaine | France | 13 | 6 | 1958 |
| 7. | Pele | Brazil | 12 | 14 | 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 |
| 8. | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 5 | 1954 |
| = | Jurgen Klinsmann | West Germany/Germany | 11 | 17 | 1990, 1994, 1998 |
| 10. | Helmut Rahn | West Germany | 10 | 10 | 1954, 1958 |
| = | Gary Lineker | England | 10 | 12 | 1986, 1990 |
| = | Gabriel Batistuta | Argentina | 10 | 12 | 1994, 1998, 2002 |
| = | Teofilo Cubillas | Peru | 10 | 13 | 1970, 1978, 1982 |
| = | Thomas Muller | Germany | 10 | 19 | 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 |
| = | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | 10 | 20 | 1974, 1978, 1982 |
| = | Harry Kane* | England | 10 | 12 | 2018. 2022. 2026 |
* denotes player playing at 2026 World Cup
It took Klose past Brazilian great Ronaldo, whose brace to down Germany in the 2002 final was part of a 15-goal haul.
Kylian Mbappe’s brilliant double in France’s opening 3-1 win over Senegal at the 2026 World Cup took him above Pele and level with Muller on 14, joint-third in the all-time standings and with Klose firmly in his sights.
England captain Harry Kane started his third World Cup with a brace in a rollercoaster 4-2 win over Croatia. He joined a cluster of players on 10 career goals at the finals overall, including his compatriot Gary Lineker.
How many World Cup goals has Cristiano Ronaldo scored?
Despite being the all-time leading international scorer, with an astonishing 143 heading into the 2026 World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo only has eight goals to his name across five World Cups. The same number as Argentina icon Diego Maradona.
Ronaldo will hope to break into the leading bunch and hit double figures as Portugal look to go deep in North America. He got off to a false start in the Selecao’s 1-1 draw against DR Congo.
Brazil’s Neymar also have eight World Cup goals and could finish the 2026 tournament among the all-time leaders if he is able to overcome his fitness woes.