World Cup top goal scorers all-time: Complete list of Golden Boot winners in FIFA men’s tournament history The Golden Boot race for the competition’s top scorer is set to provide a fascinating sub-plot to the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo taking part in what looks set to be their final major tournament. The duo, who at 35 and 37 are both now firmly in the twilight of their careers, will be expected to be among the leading candidates to top the goalscoring charts in Qatar, as both bids to claim what has so far proved to be an elusive first World Cup trophy.
The pair have split the accolades as the best players of their generation, if not all time, for more than a decade, and they will head to the Middle East with Argentina and Portugal respectively bidding to once again steal the limelight. They will not be alone, however, with the likes of Brazil forward Neymar, France superstar Kylian Mbappe and Russia 2018 winner, England’s Harry Kane, all likely to be in the mix.
It remains to be seen who does come out on top, but one thing is for sure: whichever player does will be etching their name into the illustrious World Cup history books.
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World Cup Golden Boot winners all-time
The Golden Boot battle is always eagerly anticipated at the World Cup, with a curious record of no player has won it more than once in men’s football.
Two former winners will be looking to change that in Qatar, with Germany’s Thomas Muller and England captain Kane among the leading contenders.
| Tournament | Golden Boot winner | Country | Goals |
| Uruguay 1930 | Guillermo Stabile | Argentina | 8 |
| Italy 1934 | Oldrich Nejedly | Czechoslovakia | 5 |
| France 1938 | Leonidas | Brazil | 7 |
| Brazil 1950 | Ademir | Brazil | 8 |
| Switzerland 1954 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 |
| Sweden 1958 | Just Fontaine | France | 13 |
| Chile 1962 | Valentin Ivanov,Jerkovic, Drazan, Florian Albert, Leonel Sanchez, Garrincha Vava | Brazil, Brazil, Chile, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Soviet Union | 4 |
| England 1966 | Eusebio | Portugal | 9 |
| Mexico 1970 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | 10 |
| West Germany 1974 | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | 7 |
| Argentina 1978 | Mario Kempes | Argentina | 6 |
| Spain 1982 | Paolo Rossi | Italy | 6 |
| Mexico 1986 | Gary Lineker | England | 6 |
| Italy 1990 | Salvatore Schillaci | Italy | 6 |
| USA 1994 | Oleg Salenko, Hristo Stoichkov | Russia, Bulgaria | 6 |
| France 1998 | Davor Suker | Croatia | 6 |
| South Korea/Japan 2002 | Ronaldo | Brazil | 8 |
| Germany 2006 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 5 |
| South Africa 2010 | Thomas Muller | Germany | 5 |
| Brazil 2014 | James Rodriguez | Colombia | 6 |
| Russia 2018 | Harry Kane | England | 6 |
Players with the most goals in a single World Cup
Scoring more than 10 goals at a single tournament has proved a feat too far for any player since 1970, with the average dropping to six per tournament since the turn of the century.
| Rank | Name | Country | Tournament | Goals scored in a single tournament | Overall World Cup goals |
| 1 | Just Fontaine | France | Sweden 1958 | 13 | 13 |
| 2 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | Switzerland 1954 | 11 | 11 |
| 3 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | Mexico 1970 | 10 | 14 |
| 4 | Eusebio | Portugal | England 1966 | 9 | 9 |
| 5 | Guillermo Stabile | Argentina | Uruguay 1930 | 8 | 8 |
| 5 | Ademir | Brazil | Brazil 1950 | 8 | 8 |
| 5 | Ronaldo | Brazil | Japan/South Korea 2002 | 8 | 15 |
| 8 | Leonidas | Brazil | France 1938 | 7 | 8 |
| 8 | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | West Germany 1974 | 7 | 10 |
Players with the most goals in World Cup history
The World Cup top scorers list is dominated by European and South American hot-shots, with no player from outside those two continents featuring in the top 10.
| Rank | Name | Country | Goals | Games | Tournament appearances | Goals per game |
| 1 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 | 24 | 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014 | 0.67 |
| 2 | Ronaldo | Brazil | 15 | 19 | 1994*, 1998, 2002, 2006 | 0.79 |
| 3 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | 14 | 13 | 1970, 1974 | 1.08 |
| 4 | Just Fontaine | France | 13 | 6 | 1958 | 2.17 |
| 5 | Pele | Brazil | 12 | 14 | 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 | 0.86 |
| 6 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 5 | 1954 | 2.20 |
| 6 | Jurgen Klinsmann | West Germany/Germany | 11 | 17 | 1990, 1994, 1998 | 0.65 |
| 8 | Helmut Rahn | West Germany | 10 | 10 | 1954, 1958 | 1.00 |
| 8 | Gary Lineker | England | 10 | 12 | 1986, 1990 | 0.83 |
| 8 | Gabriel Batistuta | Argentina | 10 | 12 | 1994, 1998, 2002 | 0.83 |
| 8 | Teofilo Cubillas | Peru | 10 | 13 | 1970, 1978, 1982** | 0.77 |
| 8 | Thomas Muller | Germany | 10 | 16 | 2010, 2014, 2018** | 0.63 |
| 8 | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | 10 | 20 | 1974, 1978, 1982 | 0.50 |
Most goals scored in a World Cup match
The 1994 World Cup Golden Boot continued the pattern of back-to-back tournaments where they won the award by six wickets, with Russian star Oleg Salenko and Bulgarian icon Hristo Stoichkov sharing the award in the US.
However, the tournament still holds the record for most goals scored by one player in one game. Salenko netted five goals in Russia’s 6-1 Group B win over Cameroon in their final group stage match, but it was not enough to advance to the knockout stages.