FIFA World Cup All-Time Top Scorers List

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is breaking the historical record of top goal scorers. The all time leaderboard has transformed with France's Kylian Mbappe claiming throne as the most striker in tournament historyfollowed by Argentina's Lionel Messi

Read the full article to know more about the top 10 goal scorers in FIFA World Cup history. 

Top FIFA World Cup goal scorers

1. Kylian Mbappe (22 Goals) - France

In the 2026 world cup Kylian Mbappe became the standalone all-time leading goal scorer in football history with 22 goals surpassing both Miroslav Klose and Lionel Messi. Mbappe has scored his 22 goals in only 22 matches across three tournaments.

Mbappe has scored 16 goals in three tournaments. He scored 4 goals in the 2018 final helped France to win the world cup and reached the final in the 2022 with 8 goals, and made a hat-trick against Argentina.  10 goals during the 2026 World Cup. He averages a mind-blowing 1.0 goal per game on soccer's biggest stage.

2. Lionel Messi (21 Goals) - Argentina

Lionel Messi broke Miroslav Klose's long standing record during the 2026 world cup, become the one of the tournament's greatest icons.

Lionel Messi scored first world cup goal in 2006. His most famous match was the 2022 world cup where he scored 7 goals in Qatar.  Messi has played six tournaments with the 18 goals in the football world cups history - 2006 (1 goal), 2010 (no goals), 2014 (4 goals), 2018 (1 goal), 2022 (7 goals)  and 2026 (8 goals).

3. Miroslav Klose (16 Goals)- Germany

Miroslav Klose's record is replaced by Messi in the 2026 World Cup. Now he is the 3rd top goal scorer. Klose played four consecutive tournaments - 2002 (5 goals), 2006 (5 goals), 2010 (4 goals) and 2014 (2 goals). His legacy is known for scoring 16th goal during Germany's semi-final victory over Brazil in 2014. 

4. Ronaldo Nazario (15 Goals) - Brazil

Ronaldo Nazario also known as "O Fenomeno". He is regarded as one of the dynamic and amazing strikers in football history. He was a squad member in 1994 who dominated in 1998 matches. He won the Golden Boot in 2002 and played four matches - 1994 ( 0 goals), 1998 (4 goals), 2002 ( 8 goals) and scored 3 goals in 2006. 

5. Gerd Muller (14 Goals) - West Germany 

Gerd Muller known as "Der Bomber".  He was known for being a penalty-box predator and his instinct for where the ball would drop. He scored 10 goals in the 1970 tournament and 4 goals in 1974 which included his match-winning goal against Netherlands in the final. 

6. Just Fontaine (13 Goals) - France

Just Fontaine is famous for playing in the unique style during 1958 matches which has not been seen again in football history. He has a record of scoring 13 goals in a single World Cup tournament. Fontaine is famous for his defensive style, hat-trick against Paraguay and 4 goals against West Germany.

7. Pele(12 Goals) - Brazil

Pele is the only player in history who won three FIFA World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970). Pele was just 17 years old when he played in the 1958 world cup and scored a hat-trick and reached the semi finals. 

Pele played the Four world cups with 12 goals (6 goals) 1958, (1 goals) 1962, (1 goals) 1966 and (4 goals) 1970 and Played the total 14 matches.

8. Jurgen Klinsmann (11 Goals) - Germany

Jurgen Klinsmann is known for scoring the consistent goals for Germany in the three consecutive World Cups - (3 goals) 1990, (5 goals)1994 and (3 goals)1998.

He was the main player during the West Germany's 1990 win in Italy. Klinsmann is famous for his finishing style help him to became a first player to score 3 goals in three different World Cup tournaments.

9. Sandor Kocsis (11 Goals) - Hungary

Sandor Kocsis was the key player of Hungary’s Magical Magyars. He was renowned for his aerial ability which gave him a nickname ‘the Golden Head’. He scored 11 goals in a single match in 1954 and played a total of five matches during that single tournament including two hat-tricks.

10. Gabriel Batistuta (10 Goals) - Argentina

Gabriel Batistuta is also known as ‘Batigol’. He was one of the dominant strikers in the 1990s and known for his unique finishing style and long-range strikes. He was one of the main players of Argentina's three World Cups win (1994, 1998 and 2002). 

He is the only player in history who scored a hat-trick in two different World Cup tournaments(Greece 1994 and Jamaica 1998). 

In the history of the FIFA World Cup all time goal scorers changed with every world cup. In the 2026 world cup Lionel Messi broke the record of Miroslav Klose and Kylian Mbappe moved level to Miroslav Klose.