The World Cup, the most prestigious international soccer competition, will kick off in Qatar on Sunday. And while fans’ eyes will be on which national team will claim the gold trophy, some players may have an additional goal: the Golden Boot. (These are the best men’s national soccer teams of 2022.)
The Golden Boot goes to the player who scores the most goals during the nearly month-long tournament, guaranteeing that person a place in football (soccer) history for all eternity.
To compile a list of the soccer players who have scored the most goals at the World Cup since the tournament began in 1930, 24/7 Tempo reviewed information from FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, as well as soccer-oriented sites such as Germany’s Weltfussball (World Football). We only included players who have scored at least seven World Cup goals. In case of ties, the player with the most goals per game was ranked higher.
Click here to see the all-time leading goal-scorers at the World Cup
Whichever player wins the Golden Boot in 2022 will join true soccer greats such as Mozambique-born Portuguese legend Eusébio and France’s Just Fontaine. This year’s top goal scorer may be one already ranked among the greatest. At least four players, including Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, have a chance to move up the ranking if they score in Qatar. (These are the World Cups with the highest attendance per match.)
For now, Germany is the nation with the most top goal scorers on the list, with nine players, followed by Brazil with eight. Fontaine, who played in the 1958 World Cup, still holds the record for most goals scored in a single edition of the tournament: 13. He scored an average of 2.2 goals per match: which is a record he shares with Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis who scored 11 goals in five matches during the 1954 World Cup. (More recently, though, these are the most successful athletes in the world.)
37. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
> Total goals scored: 7 (in 17 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.4
> World Cups played: 4: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
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36. Hans Shepherd (Germany)
> Total goals scored: 7 (in 15 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.5
> World Cups played: 3: 1954, 1958, 1962
35. Johnny Rep (Netherlands)
> Total goals scored: 7 (in 14 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.5
> World Cups played: 2: 1974, 1978
34. Andrzej Szarmach (Poland)
> Total goals scored: 7 (in 13 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.5
> World Cups played: 3: 1974, 1978, 1982
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33. Luis Suárez (Uruguay)
> Total goals scored: 7 (in 13 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.5
> World Cups played: 3: 2010, 2014, 2018
32. Careca (Brazil)
> Total goals scored: 7 (in 9 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.8
> World Cups played: 2: 1986, 1990
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31. Lajos Tichy (Hungary)
> Total goals scored: 7 (in 8 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.9
> World Cups played: 3: 1958, 1962, 1966
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30. Oldřich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia)
> Total goals scored: 7 (in 6 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 1.2
> World Cups played: 2: 1934, 1938
29. Diego Maradona (Argentina)
> Total goals scored: 8 (in 21 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.4
> World Cups played: 4: 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994
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28. Rudi Völler (Germany)
> Total goals scored: 8 (in 15 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.5
> World Cups played: 3: 1986, 1990, 1994
27. Rivaldo (Brazil)
> Total goals scored: 8 (in 14 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.6
> World Cups played: 2: 1998, 2002
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26. Oscar Miguez (Uruguay)
> Total goals scored: 8 (in 7 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 1.1
> World Cups played: 2: 1950, 1954
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25. Leonidas (Brazil)
> Total goals scored: 8 (in 5 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 1.6
> World Cups played: 2: 1934, 1938
24. Guillermo Stabile (Argentina)
> Total goals scored: 8 (in 4 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 2.0
> World Cups played: 1: 1930
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23. Uwe Seeler (Germany)
> Total goals scored: 9 (in 21 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.4
> World Cups played: 4: 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
22. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany)
> Total goals scored: 9 (in 19 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.5
> World Cups played: 3: 1978, 1982, 1986
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21. Paolo Rossi (Italy)
> Total goals scored: 9 (in 14 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.6
> World Cups played: 3: 1978, 1982, 1986
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20. Jairzinho (Brazil)
> Total goals scored: 9 (in 16 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.6
> World Cups played: 3: 1966, 1970, 1974
19. Roberto Baggio (Italy)
> Total goals scored: 9 (in 16 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.6
> World Cups played: 3: 1990, 1994, 1998
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18. David Villa (Spain)
> Total goals scored: 9 (in 12 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.8
> World Cups played: 3: 2006, 2010, 2014
17. Vavá (Brazil)
> Total goals scored: 9 (in 10 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.9
> World Cups played: 2: 1958, 1962
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16. Christian Vieri (Italy)
> Total goals scored: 9 (in 9 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 1.0
> World Cups played: 2: 1998, 2002
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15. Eusébio (Portugal)
> Total goals scored: 9 (in 6 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 1.5
> World Cups played: 1: 1966
14. Ademir (Brazil)
> Total goals scored: 9 (in 6 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 1.5
> World Cups played: 1: 1950
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13. Grzegorz Lato (Poland)
> Total goals scored: 10 (in 20 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.5
> World Cups played: 3: 1974, 1978, 1982
12. Thomas Müller (Germany)
> Total goals scored: 10 (in 16 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.6
> World Cups played: 3: 2010, 2014, 2018
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11. Gary Lineker (England)
> Total goals scored: 10 (in 12 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.8
> World Cups played: 2: 1986, 1990
10. Teófilo Cubillas (Peru)
> Total goals scored: 10 (in 13 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.8
> World Cups played: 3: 1970, 1978, 1982
9. Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina)
> Total goals scored: 10 (in 12 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.8
> World Cups played: 3: 1994, 1998, 2002
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8. Helmut Rahn (Germany)
> Total goals scored: 10 (in 10 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 1.0
> World Cups played: 2: 1954, 1958
7. Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany)
> Total goals scored: 11 (in 17 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.6
> World Cups played: 3: 1990, 1994, 1998
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6. Sándor Kocsis (Hungary)
> Total goals scored: 11 (in 5 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 2.2
> World Cups played: 1: 1954
5. Pelé (Brazil)
> Total goals scored: 12 (in 14 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.9
> World Cups played: 4: 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
4. Just Fontaine (France)
> Total goals scored: 13 (in 6 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 2.2
> World Cups played: 1: 1958
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3. Gerd Müller (Germany)
> Total goals scored: 14 (in 13 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 1.1
> World Cups played: 2: 1970, 1974
2. Ronaldo (Brazil)
> Total goals scored: 15 (in 19 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.8
> World Cups played: 4: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
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1. Miroslav Klose (Germany)
> Total goals scored: 16 (in 24 matches)
> Avg goals per game: 0.7
> World Cups played: 4: 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
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