The GOAT continues to amaze the world as Lionel Messi now reigns supreme at the top of the list of all-time goalscorers at a men’s World Cup.
With his goal against Austria in Argentina’s group-stage game on June 22, Messi surpassed the long-standing record held by Germany’s Miroslav Klose. It came a week after Messi scored his first career World Cup hat trick in a win over Algeria, while also setting the record as the oldest player (38) to record a hat trick at the tournament — passing Cristiano Ronaldo’s feat from 2022 when he was 33 years old.
But this list could change even more. France’s Kylian Mbappé has 14 goals all time at the World Cup, tied for the fourth-most ever, and could add to his tally this summer. With that being said, here are the players with the most goals in World Cup history. Let’s take a look.
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Messi’s four goals at the 2026 World Cup have now given him the record. Messi has played in every World Cup since 2006 and scored in all but one (2010). He scored seven goals at the 2022 World Cup. Messi is also Argentina’s all-time leading goalscorer with 121 to his name and additionally holds the record for most World Cup matches played with 27.
(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Many consider Ronaldo the greatest striker of all-time, as he scored more than 350 goals in club play and 62 for Brazil. Fifteen of those international goals came in the World Cup, en route to winning the Golden Ball in the 1998 tournament and the Golden Boot in 2002.
(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Arguably the greatest Bundesliga goalscorer of all-time, Müller scored an astonishing 10 goals in 1970 and then another four in 1974 in Germany’s title run. He was Germany’s all-time leading goalscorer with 68 goals until Klose passed him.
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The great Pelé scored in all four of his World Cup appearances from 1958 to 1970 and won three titles with Brazil in that span. Most notably, he scored in the final in 1958, as the youngest to ever do so at just 17 years old.
(Photo by Mark Leech/Offside/Getty Images).
Kocsis’s 11 goals all came in 1954, when his Hungary side scored 27 in five matches before falling in the final to West Germany. He’s the only player to hit double digits in one World Cup besides Fontaine and Müller.
Seven players have exactly 10 goals at the World Cup: Helmut Rahn (Germany), Gary Lineker (England), Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina), Teófilo Cubillas (Peru), Thomas Müller (Germany) and Grzegorz Lato (Poland).
