After a thrilling 3-3 draw in which superstars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe combined for five goals, Argentina prevailed on penalties to win the 2022 World Cup.
Top 20 scorers in World Cup history
German superstar Miroslav Klose has scored 16 goals in World Cup play, making him the all-time leader in that category.
However, other players immediately behind Klose in the rankings, including Ronaldo, Gerd Muller, Just Fontaine, Pele, and Kylian Mbappe, all have greater goals-per-game ratios than Klose does. Lionel Messi, who helped Argentina win 2022, is not among these players.
A number of Germans rank among the best in the world, including Gerd Muller (14), who has more goals than Ronaldo, and Jurgen Klinsmann (11), who is also quite successful.
Sándor Kocsis (11) and Fontaine (13), two superstars of the 1950s, each averaged more than 2 goals per game.
While he may not be the all-time World Cup scoring leader, Pele’s 12 goals will ensure him a permanent place in the record books.
Who has scored the most goals in World Cup qualifying?
Guatemala’s former striker Carlos Ruiz scored a record-setting 39 goals in World Cup qualification, although his team was ultimately unsuccessful in making the cut.
The record-holder and leading scorer for Guatemala, Ruiz participated in 5 qualifying campaigns and scored a total of 47 goals in 47 appearances.
Christiano Ronaldo has scored more World Cup qualification goals (36) than any other European player.
Ali Daei of Iran is in third place with 35 goals, followed by Robert Lewandowski of Poland with 30 goals.
Luis Suarez, a striker for Uruguay, has an impressive World Cup resume, scoring 29 goals in qualification and seven in the tournament itself.
Andriy Shevchenko, a fantastic player for Milan, netted 26 goals in qualification seasons and two more in the World Cup as a whole.
Where does Lionel Messi fit in? With 22 goals in qualification and 13 overall at the World Cup, he has risen to prominence as one of the tournament’s best scorers. His six goals in 2022 placed him second in Golden Shoe voting, behind only Kylian Mbappe.
Which player has the record for most goals at a single World Cup?
Just Fontaine, a French striker, scored all 13 of his World Cup goals in a single tournament in 1958. He only played in six games.
The record for most goals scored by a single player at a World Cup is still held by Fontaine, more than 60 years after his memorable heyday.
Who is the oldest player to score in a World Cup?
Cameroonian striker Roger Milla is the oldest player to score a World Cup goal.
Milla scored for Cameroon against Russia in the 1994 World Cup group stage, and he was just 42 years and 39 days old.
Who is the youngest goalscorer in a World Cup?
Pele set a record by scoring in his first World Cup game at the age of 16.
When he scored in a 1958 match for Sweden against Wales, he was 17 years and 239 days old.
A record would be set five days later when Pele scored a hat trick against France in the World Cup, becoming the youngest player to do so at that tournament. That’s a record that hasn’t been broken yet.
