List of Top 25 Scorers in World Cup History

The FIFA World Cup has seen many great goalscorers since it started in 1930. Stars from different generations are on the all-time scoring list.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Germany’s Miroslav Klose now share the top spot. Messi scored a hat-trick against Algeria in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group J opener in Kansas City on Wednesday.

Here is the official list of the leading scorers in World Cup history as given by FIFA on Wednesday.

List of FIFA World Cup all-time leading scorers

1. Miroslav Klose (Germany), 16 goals

World Cups: 4 (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014), in 24 matches

1. Lionel Messi (Argentina), 16 goals

World Cups: 6 (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026), in 27 matches

1. Ronaldo Nazário (Brazil), 15 goals

World Cups: 4 (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006), in 19 matches

1. Gerd Müller (West Germany), 14 goals

World Cups: 2 (1970, 1974), in 13 matches

1. Kylian Mbappé (France), 14 goals

World Cups: 3 (2018, 2022, 2026), in 15 matches

1. Just Fontaine (France), 13 goals

World Cups: 1 (1958), in 6 matches

1. Pelé (Brazil), 12 goals

World Cups: 4 (1958, 1962, 1966, 1970), in 14 matches

1. Jürgen Klinsmann (West Germany/Germany), 11 goals

World Cups: 3 (1990, 1994, 1998), in 17 matches

1. Sándor Kocsis (Hungary), 11 goals

World Cups: 1 (1954), in 5 matches

1. Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina), 10 goals

World Cups: 3 (1994, 1998, 2002), in 12 matches

1. Teófilo Cubillas (Peru), 10 goals

World Cups: 3 (1970, 1978, 1982), in 13 matches

1. Grzegorz Lato (Poland), 10 goals

World Cups: 3 (1974, 1978, 1982), in 20 matches

1. Gary Lineker (England), 10 goals

World Cups: 2 (1986, 1990), in 12 matches

1. Thomas Müller (Germany), 10 goals

World Cups: 4 (2010, 2014, 2018, 2022), in 19 matches

1. Helmut Rahn (West Germany), 10 goals

World Cups: 2 (1954, 1958), in 10 matches

1. Ademir de Menezes (Brazil), 9 goals

World Cups: 1 (1950), in 6 matches

1. Roberto Baggio (Italy), 9 goals

World Cups: 3 (1990, 1994, 1998), in 16 matches

1. Eusébio (Portugal), 9 goals

World Cups: 1 (1966), in 6 matches

1. Jairzinho (Brazil), 9 goals

World Cups: 3 (1966, 1970, 1974), in 16 matches

1. Paolo Rossi (Italy), 9 goals

World Cups: 2 (1978, 1982), in 14 matches

1. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany), 9 goals

World Cups: 3 (1978, 1982, 1986), in 19 matches

1. Uwe Seeler (West Germany), 9 goals

World Cups: 4 (1958, 1962, 1966, 1970), in 21 matches

1. Vavá (Brazil), 9 goals

World Cups: 2 (1958, 1962), in 10 matches

1. Christian Vieri (Italy), 9 goals

World Cups: 2 (1998, 2002), in 9 matches

1. David Villa (Spain), 9 goals

World Cups: 3 (2006, 2010, 2014), in 12 matches