Who is the all-time World Cup top scorer?
Lionel Messi leads the historical table through 2022 with 21 goals.
FIFA World Cup data
World Cup All-Time Top Scorers: Goals, Matches and Records
Historical FIFA World Cup goals, appearances, editions and goals per match through the 2022 tournament.
Historical dataset updated 17 Jul 2026, 18:40 · Africa/Casablanca
Historical ranking
All-time World Cup goals
The ranking is frozen at the end of the 2022 tournament. Current 2026 goals belong on the live page.
| Rank | Player | Country | Goals | Matches | Goals per match | Editions | First | Last | Best result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 21 | 31 | 0.68 | 6 | 2006 | 2026 | Winner, 2022 | Active |
| 2 | Kylian Mbappé | France | 20 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 2018 | 2026 | Winner, 2018 | Active |
| 3 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 | 24 | 0.67 | 4 | 2002 | 2014 | Winner, 2014 | Retired |
| 4 | Ronaldo Nazário | Brazil | 15 | 19 | 0.79 | 4 | 1994 | 2006 | Winner, 1994 and 2002 | Retired |
| 5 | Gerd Müller | West Germany | 14 | 13 | 1.08 | 2 | 1970 | 1974 | Winner, 1974 | Retired |
| 6 | Just Fontaine | France | 13 | 6 | 2.17 | 1 | 1958 | 1958 | Third place, 1958 | Retired |
| 7 | Pelé | Brazil | 12 | 14 | 0.86 | 4 | 1958 | 1970 | Winner, 1958, 1962 and 1970 | Retired |
| 8 | Sándor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 5 | 2.2 | 1 | 1954 | 1954 | Runner-up, 1954 | Retired |
| 8 | Jürgen Klinsmann | Germany | 11 | 17 | 0.65 | 3 | 1990 | 1998 | Winner, 1990 | Retired |
| 8 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 11 | 27 | 0.41 | 6 | 2006 | 2026 | Fourth place, 2006 | Retired |
| 11 | Helmut Rahn | West Germany | 10 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1954 | 1958 | Winner, 1954 | Retired |
| 11 | Gary Lineker | England | 10 | 12 | 0.83 | 2 | 1986 | 1990 | Fourth place, 1990 | Retired |
| 11 | Gabriel Batistuta | Argentina | 10 | 12 | 0.83 | 3 | 1994 | 2002 | Quarter-final, 1998 | Retired |
| 11 | Teófilo Cubillas | Peru | 10 | 13 | 0.77 | 3 | 1970 | 1982 | Quarter-final, 1970 | Retired |
| 11 | Thomas Müller | Germany | 10 | 19 | 0.53 | 4 | 2010 | 2022 | Winner, 2014 | Retired |
| 11 | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | 10 | 20 | 0.5 | 3 | 1974 | 1982 | Third place, 1974 and 1982 | Retired |
FAQ
World Cup scoring questions
How many World Cup goals did Lionel Messi score through 2022?
21 goals in 31 matches.
How many World Cup goals did Kylian Mbappé score through 2022?
20 goals in 20 matches.
What is the difference between Ronaldo and Cristiano Ronaldo?
Ronaldo Nazário is the Brazilian striker with 15 World Cup goals through 2006. Cristiano Ronaldo is the Portuguese forward and has a separate profile.
Do penalty shootout kicks count as World Cup goals?
No. Shootout conversions are excluded from a player’s match goal total.
Methodology
Data rules and limits
- Career totals for active players require a licensed live statistics provider and are not replaced by zero.
- Historical assist totals vary by provider because older tournaments used different attribution methods.
- Penalty shootout conversions are excluded from match goal totals.
- The 2026 leaderboard is loaded from the configured API endpoint and is never written inside a page component.