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The 5 top scorers in World Cup history

The 2022 World Cup will be different from perhaps every tournament that has preceded it. Set to be held in Qatar after a controversial bidding process, the decision to holding the event in November and December will heavily disrupt the European club season. Players should adapt to the shift with the chance to make nation to international glory. So who are the top scorers in World Cup history so far?

 

5 top scorers in World Cup history

 

5. Pele (Brazil) – 12 goals in 14 appearances

It is perhaps a surprise not to see Pele, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, higher in this list.

Although the Brazilian icon helped his country to win the World Cup on three occasions, in 1958, 1962 and 1970, he is lagging behind some other top strikers when it comes to goals.

Pele’s goals-to-games record in the tournament is absolutely incredible, however. He struck three goals in his three appearances in the final, the first of which coming when he was just 17.

Not only is Pele, who is now 79 years old, one of the World Cup’s most prolific players, nobody has scored more times for Brazil than his tally of 77 goals in 92 games.

 

4. Just Fontaine (France) – 13 goals in 6 appearances

If you thought Pele made the most of his relatively few appearances at the World Cup, then Just Fontaine’s record in the tournament is even more impressive.

Fontaine only played in the 1958 edition of the competition but found the net a remarkable 13 times as France reached the semi-finals, only to succumb 5-2 to Pele’s Brazil.

Even more amazingly, four of his goals at the tournament came against West Germany, who were the defending champions.

Fontaine made his mark in the third-place play-off and easily won the Golden Boot as a result. Sadly, Fontaine did not have the chance to feature at the World Cup again, playing his last game in 1962 and having to retire early due to injury. He sits fourth in our list of the the top scorers in World Cup history but comfortably has the best goals per game ratio.

 

3. Gerd Muller (West Germany) – 14 goals in 13 appearances

One of the greatest players in German football history, Muller’s total of 14 World Cup goals nudges him ahead of Fontaine and into third place in the tournament’s top scorers list.

West Germany only reached the semi-finals in 1970 but Muller was unstoppable, scoring 10 goals including netting back-to-back group stage hat-tricks against Bulgaria and Peru.

Muller then struck the winner in extra time to knock out old rivals England in the quarter-finals but, although he added two more goals in the semi-final against Italy, his side lost 4-3.

At the next World Cup four years later, Muller hit four more goals including the decisive goal in the final victory over the Netherlands as West Germany became champions on home soil.

 

2. Ronaldo (Brazil) – 15 goals in 19 appearances

Muller’s record stood until 2006 when he was eclipsed as the World Cup’s top goalscorer by Ronaldo, who had helped Brazil to win the 1994 tournament at the age of 17 – matching Pele.

The 1998 edition saw Ronaldo win the Golden Ball after he hit four goals in Brazil’s route to the final. But despite his prolific career for club and country, Ronaldo is also remembered for the 1998 final itself, when he struggled to make an impact having had a seizure before the game.

Brazil won the World Cup again in 2002, Ronaldo winning the Golden Boot and then that year’s Ballon d’Or, while he eclipsed Muller’s tally with a strike against Ghana four years later.

Although Ronaldo was affected by knee problems during his career, he hit 62 goals for Brazil with only Pele scoring more times for the Selecao.

 

1. Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 16 goals in 24 appearances

He might not be celebrated as much as some of the other more famous names in the list but the top goalscorer in the history of the World Cup is Germany striker Miroslav Klose.

Endurance helped Klose overhaul the likes of Muller and Ronaldo as he played 24 times across four tournaments: 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. Klose exploded on to the international scene with five goals in 2002 and he claimed the Golden Boot four years later by matching that tally.

Another four goals arrived in the 2010 World Cup and Klose finally got to celebrate winning the competition in 2014 after some near-misses as Germany beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the final.

Klose’s record-breaking goal, moving him ahead of Ronaldo in this list, came in Germany’s 7-1 demolition of Brazil in the semis, ensuring his name would go into the World Cup history books.

 


 

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