Ranked: The Top Goal Scorers in FIFA World Cup History

With the 2022 FIFA World Cup around the corner, soccer (or football) fans have their eyes set on how their favorite teams and players will perform.

But history shows that some players, and teams, are far more proficient in goals and wins than others. After all, with only 32 teams competing and the field quickly whittling down, there aren’t many chances for players to make their mark.

Who are history’s most prolific goal scorers? This series of graphics from Pablo Alvarez breaks down the top goal scorers in FIFA World Cup history, and their goals per appearances.

The World’s Cup Top Goal Scorers

Since the inaugural World Cup tournament in 1930, there have been 21 tournaments held across 17 countries.

At the first World Cup in Uruguay, 13 national teams competed for the championship trophy. The tournament then included 16 teams until 1982, when it expanded to 24 teams. Most recently, FIFA expanded to the current 32-team format starting in 1998.

And across all these tournaments, just 13 players have scored 10 or more goals:

Rank	Player (* denotes active)	World Cup Goals	Tournaments
1	Miroslav Klose	16	4
2	Ronaldo	15	3
3	Gerd Müller	14	2
4	Just Fontaine	13	1
5	Pelé	12	4
T6	Sándor Kocsis	11	1
T6	Jürgen Klinsmann	11	3
T8	Helmut Rahn	10	2
T8	󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧 Gary Lineker	10	2
T8	Gabriel Batistuta	10	3
T8	Teófilo Cubillas	10	2
T8	Thomas (Read more...)