Top 10 World Cup Goal Scorers

Over the 20 editions of the FIFA World Cup, a number of players have had exceptional performances earning them recognition for netting many goals.

Here is our list of the top 10 World Cup goalscorers.

1.) Miroslav Klose
Goals scored: 16
Country: Germany

Miroslav Klose scored 16 goals in four World Cup appearances for Germany. His tally bettered the record held by Ronaldo of Brazil when he scored against Brazil in the semifinal of the 2014 World Cup. Among his many achievements, Klose scored a hat trick on his debut for Germany against Saudi Arabia in 2002.

Klose currently plays for Lazio in the Serie A after spending the better part of his career with the Bundesliga sides; Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen and Kaiserslautern. Klose is relied upon for his consistent goal scoring ability.

2.) Ronaldo
Goals scored: 15
Country: Brazil

The phenomenal Brazilian player was a force to reckon with in front of the goal. His radiance puts him second on the list with 15 goals from the three World Cup tournaments he played. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest soccer player of all-time. Ronaldo scored twice in the 2002 World Cup final bringing his tally to eight goals and earning him the Golden Boot.

Basically, the display during his career when he played for Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Barcelona brought him glory. He later moved to AC Milan then to Corinthians, a Brazilian club. However, a number of serious injuries hampered his career forcing him to retire in February 2011 at the age of 34.

3.) Gerd Muller
Goals scored: 14
Country: West Germany

Gerd Muller closely comes in third position with 14 goals for West Germany, scored within two editions. The German set the record in 1974 which he held for a lengthy 32-year period until Ronaldo overtook him. He holds a high scoring rate among the all-time top goal scorers in the world.

Muller spent 15 years with Bayern Munich before moving to America where he played for Fort Lauderdale Strikers for two years before his retirement. He set the record of 66 goals in 74 European club matches and 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga appearances.

4.) Just Fontaine
Goals scored: 13
Country: France

Just Fontaine is fourth on the list, but only a magical and sensational player can score a record 13 goals in a single edition of the World Cup tournament. In 1958, Fontaine flaunted his goal scoring skill in Sweden in the six matches he played, one of which was against West Germany when he put four goals past them.

He spent his career in France playing for Nice then Stade de Reims. Fontaine has very impressive statistics from club to international level. He scored 30 goals for France within seven years, in 21 appearances.

5.) Pele
Goals scored: 12
Country: Brazil

Brazil’s three World Cup wins in four consecutive tournaments happened under the inspiration of Pele, who scored 12 goals for the side. No wonder soccer fans across the world, and most definitely the Brazilians, deem him a hero. Above all, Pele was voted by IFFHS as the world player of the century in 1999.

He featured in the Guinness Book of records for his total tally of 1281 goals scored throughout his successful career. Talking of his career, he played for the Brazilian club Santos from 1956 to 1974 and later spent three seasons at the former American club New York Cosmos before retiring.

6.) Sandor Kocsis
Golals scored: 11
Country: Hungary

Two hat tricks in five matches of the 1954 tournament propelled the Hungarian to fame. Sandor Kocsis became the first player to score two hat tricks in a single tournament. He scored seven hat tricks in total for Hungary during his time.

Kocsis scored plenty of goals at club level and for his national team. Kocsis exhibited his prowess while playing for Hungary club Budapest Honved in the 1950s and later when he moved to Barcelona. The Hungarian striker passed on in 1979 at the age of 49.

7.) Jurgen Klinsmann
Goals scored: 11
Country: Germany

The current United States National coach was a prolific icon as a player. Klinsmann played for several premier clubs in Europe like Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich, AS Monaco and VfB Stuttgart. The former German striker had unquestionable ability in scoring goals.

He scored 11 goals in three tournaments for the national side in the World Cup ranking him sixth alongside Kocsis. He played an important role in West Germany’s triumph in the 1990 World Cup in Italy by scoring three goals.

8.) Helmut Rahn
Goals scored: 10
Country: West Germany

Helmut Rahn is greatly remembered for scoring the winning goal in the 1954 final against the on-form Hungarian team. He had an exceptional performance on that day helping his team to recover from a 2-goal deficit onto winning 3-2 after assisting the first goal and scoring two.

He featured in the 1958 tournament where he scored six goals to make it 10 in two editions of the FIFA World Cup. Rahn had a successful spell in his early days playing for Rot-Weiss Essen of Germany. He later played for two other German sides, FC Koln and MSV Duisburg, and SC Enschede of Netherlands.

9.) Teofilo Cubillas
Goals scored: 10
Country: Peru

Teofilo Cubillas scored 10 goals in the 1970 and 1974 tournaments. His efforts aided the Peruvian team to advance to the 1970 World Cup quarter finals. No other player from Peru beats his record of 26 goals in 81 appearances for the national team.

He put five past the goal in each tournament. This achievement makes him one of the three players, alongside Thomas Muller and Miroslav Klose of Germany, to score five goals or more in two different World Cup tournaments.

10.) Grzegorz Lato
Goals scored: 10
Country: Poland

Grzegorz Lato was the top scorer in the 1974 FIFA World Cup with seven goals. He was instrumental in his national teams third-place finish in the tournament. He participated in the subsequent two tournaments scoring three more goals.

There is a reason as to why the Polish crown Lato their favorite player. He pushed the team to win numerous titles. He set a record 45 goals in 100 games for Poland before retiring in 1984. The record still holds to this day.

Gary Lineker
Goals scored: 10
Country: England

Gary Likener of England has 10 goals from two World Cup editions. He has the country’s best goal-to-games ratio. Likener is the only Englishman to receive the Golden Boot which he earned in the 1986 tournament.

At the club level, he remains equally prolific and has remarkable statistics. He won the English golden boot playing with Leicester City, Everton and Spurs. Aside from his brilliant goal scoring techniques, he is known for never receiving a yellow or red card in his career.

Gabriel Batistuta
Goals scored: 10
Country: Argentina

Argentina is known for the world-class strikers it has nurtured, from Diego Maradona to Hernan Crespo and the magnificent Lionel Messi. Nonetheless, Batistuta leads the pack as the nation’s all-time top goal scorer with 56 goals in 78 games.

Batistuta was instrumental in Argentina’s World Cup performances in 1994, 1998 and 2002 despite them failing to shine. On the other hand, he is honoured by Fiorentina of Italy for his contribution to the club, who went on to erect a bronze statue of him in 1996.

Thomas Muller
Goals scored: 10
Country: Germany

Thomas Muller was called-up to the national team in 2010. He appealed to fans across the world by scoring the tournaments’ high of five goals. He was recognized by FIFA as the Best Young Player of the 2010 tournament. He further helped his team in winning the 2014 World Cup by scoring five more goals.

The 25 year old has spent his career at Bayern Munich of Germany. Muller joined the senior team in 2008 after emerging from the club’s youth system. He a reliable player based on his consistency in scoring goals and great team work.