The record books got rewritten twice in the same tournament this year. Lionel Messi passed Miroslav Klose’s long-standing mark of 16 goals in June, and less than a month later, Kylian Mbappe scored twice in the third-place match to leapfrog Messi entirely. Two men now sit above every other player who has ever taken the field at a World Cup, and the gap between them and the rest of history is wider than it has ever been. Here is the complete rundown of the ten highest goal totals in FIFA World Cup history.

1. Kylian Mbappe (France), 22 Goals

Mbappe enters the record books as the all-time leading scorer in men’s World Cup history after his brace against England in the 2026 third-place playoff pushed him to 22 goals across three tournaments. He also became the first man to win the Golden Boot twice, adding the 2026 award to the one he claimed in 2022, after finishing this year’s tournament with 10 goals and four assists.

His path to the top has been remarkably fast. He scored four goals as a teenager in his 2018 debut, becoming just the second teenager ever to score in a World Cup final, then added eight more in 2022, including the second hat trick ever scored in a final. By the time he arrived in 2026, only Klose stood ahead of him, and Mbappe passed him inside the group stage before eventually catching and passing Messi as well.

Why Mbappe’s Total Might Be Just The Beginning

Mbappe is still only in his late twenties, and unlike most of the names on this list, he has realistic time for at least one more World Cup cycle. If his scoring rate across three tournaments holds anywhere close to steady, the current record may not stand nearly as long as Klose’s did.

2. Lionel Messi (Argentina), 21 Goals

Messi held the outright record for less than a month before Mbappe overtook him, but his 2026 tournament will still be remembered as one of the most remarkable individual World Cup runs ever played. He opened the tournament with his first-ever World Cup hat trick against Algeria at 38 years old, the oldest player to record a hat trick at the tournament, and kept scoring in six straight matches, extending that streak to nine games by the time Argentina reached the knockout rounds.

Messi’s career World Cup numbers are staggering regardless of where he ultimately lands in the scoring order. He has scored in five of his six World Cup appearances, missing only in 2010, and he holds the record for most World Cup matches played by anyone in history. He also remains Argentina’s all-time leading scorer across all competitions.

3. Miroslav Klose (Germany), 16 Goals

For twelve years, Klose stood alone at the top of this list, a record that felt close to untouchable until this summer. He built his total across four consecutive tournaments from 2002 to 2014, scoring in every single one of them, a feat matched by very few strikers in the sport’s history.

His most famous goal came in the 2014 semi-final rout of host nation Brazil, a 7-1 demolition in which Klose’s goal moved him past Brazil’s Ronaldo to claim the record outright for the first time. He finished his international career as Germany’s all-time leading scorer with 71 goals, and remains the only player to have scored in four different World Cup tournaments.

4. Ronaldo (Brazil), 15 Goals

Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, not to be confused with Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, spent over a decade as the World Cup’s all-time top scorer before Klose passed him in 2014. His 15 goals came across three tournaments between 1998 and 2006, delivered at a remarkable rate of efficiency for a player many still consider the greatest pure striker the sport has produced.

He won the Golden Ball in 1998 and the Golden Boot in 2002, the year Brazil lifted the trophy with Ronaldo scoring both goals in the final against Germany. His combination of pace, technique, and finishing ability influenced a generation of forwards that followed him.

5. Gerd Muller and Harry Kane, 14 Goals Each

Gerd Muller built his tally across just two tournaments, 1970 and 1974, an extraordinarily efficient rate that has never been matched by any other player with this many goals. His 1970 tournament alone produced 10 goals, one of only three times any player has reached double digits in a single edition.

Harry Kane joins him after climbing the list steadily across three World Cups, capped by a strong showing in 2026 as England reached the bronze medal match. His six-goal haul in that third-place win over France, a 6-4 classic, was the exclamation point on a career that has quietly become one of the most productive in tournament history.

6. Just Fontaine (France), 13 Goals

Fontaine’s total is the strangest entry on this list, because every one of his 13 goals came in a single tournament, the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. He scored them across just six matches, reportedly wearing borrowed boots for part of the tournament, and his single-edition record has now stood for well over six decades without a serious challenge.

An injury effectively ended his career at 28, meaning his entire World Cup legacy rests on that one extraordinary month. No player since has come within four goals of matching his single-tournament total.

7. Pele (Brazil), 12 Goals

Pele’s tally came across four tournaments between 1958 and 1970, a span during which he helped Brazil win three World Cup titles, still a record for an individual player. His goals came at both ends of his career, scoring as a 17-year-old in 1958 and closing out his World Cup career in the legendary 1970 Brazil side widely considered one of the greatest teams ever assembled.

While his goal total sits behind several names above him on this list, his influence on the tournament’s history and the global growth of the sport goes well beyond any single statistic.

8. Sandor Kocsis, Jurgen Klinsmann, and Cristiano Ronaldo, 11 Goals Each

Three very different careers land on the same number here. Sandor Kocsis scored all 11 of his goals in the 1954 tournament, helping Hungary reach the final before an upset loss to West Germany in what is still remembered as the Miracle of Bern. He remains one of only three players ever to reach double digits in a single World Cup.

Jurgen Klinsmann built his total across three tournaments from 1990 to 1998, scoring in West Germany’s 1990 title run before continuing to find the net in two more editions. Cristiano Ronaldo rounds out this group after climbing into the 11-goal tier during the 2026 tournament, his sixth World Cup appearance, a run that also saw him become the oldest player to score in a World Cup knockout match at 41 years old.

The 10-Goal Club

Beyond the individual entries above, a group of seven players sit together on exactly 10 career World Cup goals, forming one of the most historically diverse tiers on this entire list:

• Helmut Rahn (West Germany), whose goals in the 1950s helped shape West Germany’s early World Cup success
• Gary Lineker (England), the Golden Boot winner from the 1986 tournament
• Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina), one of the most feared strikers of the 1990s
• Teofilo Cubillas (Peru), among the finest South American players never to win the tournament
• Thomas Muller (Germany), the 2010 Golden Boot winner and longtime national team fixture
• Grzegorz Lato (Poland), the top scorer of the 1974 World Cup
• Cristiano Ronaldo, who occupies both the 11-goal and 10-goal tiers depending on which cutoff date is used, having crossed into double digits years before his most recent tournament

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history?

Kylian Mbappe of France is the all-time leading scorer in men’s World Cup history with 22 goals, a record he set during the 2026 tournament by passing both Miroslav Klose and Lionel Messi.

How many World Cup goals does Lionel Messi have?

Lionel Messi finished his World Cup career with 21 goals across six tournaments, briefly holding the outright record in 2026 before Mbappe passed him in the third-place match.

Who held the World Cup scoring record before Messi and Mbappe?

Miroslav Klose held the record with 16 goals from 2014 until June 2026, when Messi passed him during Argentina’s group stage match against Austria.

What is the record for most goals scored in a single World Cup tournament?

Just Fontaine’s 13 goals for France in the 1958 tournament remain the record for a single edition, a mark that has stood for well over 60 years.