World Cup – All time top scorers

The overall top goal scorer in the World Cup is Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who has scored at total of 16 goals. This list has been updated with the 2018 results.

Here are a little bit more details about the top 5 scorers:

1. Miroslav Klose – Germany 16 goals

   At his first World Cup in 2002, Klose scored five goals, all of them from headers (the first footballer to ever achieve such a feat). He finished as joint second-highest scorer alongside Rivaldo.

   In 2006 he again scored five goals to finish as the tournament’s Golden Boot recipient.

   In 2010, he scored four goals, including strikes against Australia, England and Argentina.

    

    

   In 2014, his goals against Ghana and Brazil ultimately helped Germany to the title, and he also became the competition’s all-time top scorer, the third player in history to score in four different World Cups and the first player ever to appear in four consecutive World Cup semifinals.

2. Ronaldo – Brazil 15 goalsRonaldo made Brazil’s 1994 squad as a 17-year-old but didn’t play, and although “O Fenômeno” managed three goals at the 2006 World Cup, injuries and weight issues had made him a shadow of his former self.

   However, nobody will ever forget the ferociously talented footballer that dominated the ’98 event and the remarkable redemption story that captivated the world in ’02.

   In ’98, Ronaldo’s freakish combination of power, pace, skill and finishing ability led to four goals and three assists before the final at the Stade de France. His mysterious illness and prematch seizure led to disappointment, but Ronaldo would have his moment four years later.

    

   Despite tearing his cruciate ligament in 2000, Ronaldo led Brazil to its fifth world title in 2002 while scoring eight goals, including two on the previously unbeatable Oliver Kahn in the final.

3. Gerd Miller – Germany 14 goalsFor 32 years, Gerd Muller held the record as the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer. He managed the feat despite only playing in two World Cup. In 1970, he recorded a ridiculous return of 10 goals in six games.

   In 1974, he helped West Germany win the title by scoring four goals in seven matches, including the game-winning goal against the Netherlands in the final.

   With a career total of 735 goals from 793 matches (0.92), “Der Bomber” is one of the most prolific goal scorers of all-time.

    

    

4. Just Fontaine – France 13 goals

   If you’re wondering who’s scored the most goals in a single World Cup tournament, it’s Frenchman Just Fontaine. At the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, Fontaine scored three against Paraguay, two against Yugoslavia, one against Scotland, two against Northern Ireland, one against Brazil and four against West Germany.

   For the sake of comparison, the performance of Pele at that tournament is more widely remembered since Brazil won it all — he finished joint second-highest scorer with six.

   

5. Pele – Brazil 12 goalsWith three World Cup titles (’58, ’62 and ’70), many regard Pele as the finest international footballer of all-time, if not the greatest, period. In ’58, Pele finished with six goals and, at the tender age of 17, was named the tournament’s best young player. His flick and volley against Sweden in the final is still remembered as one of the finest solo goals of all-time.

   In ’62, Pele scored in the opening match against Mexico, but an injury in game number two against Czechoslovakia ended his tournament prematurely. ’66 was similar in that persistent fouling again ended his tournament early (although he did manage to become the first player to score in three straight World Cups).

   But Pele would have his vengeance in 1970, winning the tournament’s Golden Ball award while scoring four goals, including a goal and an assist in Brazil’s 4-1 final demolition of Italy.