The world’s top players are constantly battling for the top spot in FIFA World Cup, and some have taken their game to the next level. They have created a name for themselves with their performances in various leagues and have scored many goals. Let us take a look at the top 5 players with the most FIFA world cup goals in history that are worth mentioning:
16 Goals: Miroslav Klose
When scoring goals in the World Cup, Miroslav Klose is one of the best. During his 16-year career with the German national team, he scored 16 times in 24 appearances across four separate tournaments.
He made his World Cup debut in the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea. Eleven Klose’s World Cup goals came in 10 Group Stage matches, while just five came in 11 knockout matches. Klose retired from international soccer after Germany won Brazil’s fourth World Cup title in 2014.
15 Goals: Ronaldo
Ronaldo is the top player with the most World Cup goals in history. He has 15 goals in just 19 appearances across three tournaments and is rightly admired. His debut World Cup tournament came in 1998, with four goals in seven appearances across France.
He missed Brazil’s entire qualification campaign for the 2002 World Cup due to injury and only played one game for them in Korea/Japan, where he scored two goals. His last appearance was in Germany in 2006, where he scored twice more and helped Brazil to a fourth-place finish.
14 Goals: Gerd Muller
Gerd Müller is the most prolific goal scorer in World Cup history, scoring 14 goals in just two tournaments. He scored in each of his first five World Cup appearances, including back-to-back hat-tricks in games against Bulgaria and Peru in Mexico in 1970.
Müller held the all-time goalscoring record in the World Cup with 14 goals for 32 years before Brazilian Ronaldo overtook him in 2006.
13 Goals: Just Fontaine
Just Fontaine is the player with the most goals in a single World Cup final. He scored 13 goals in six matches at the 1958 tournament. He scored in every one of his six appearances at the 1958 tournament in Sweden, and he holds the record for most goals in a single World Cup finals.
In addition to his 13 goals, Fontaine also scored ten goals for France during qualifying rounds for World Cups between 1954 and 1966. This makes him one of only three players to score at least three goals in two separate matches at a World Cup finals tournament.
12 Goals: Pele
It’s no surprise that Pele is one of the all-time greats, but it’s still shocking to look at his stats. He played in four World Cups and scored 12 goals in total—the most ever by a Brazilian player.
But while he had his fair share of goals, he never won a Golden Boot award. He did win the Best Player award at the 1970 World Cup thanks to four goals and six assists. The youngest player to ever score in a World Cup final is one of the greatest players of all time.
