Which players have scored in the most World Cup tournaments?

Updated: 21 Jul 2026 13:18 BST |
2 min read

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The honour of being the highest-scoring footballer in the history of the World Cup changed hands on more than one occasion in the 2026 World Cup.

The 2026 edition of the World Cup saw Spain lift the famous gold trophy for the second time and they did so despite being up against the second-highest goalscorer in tournament history, Lionel Messi, who now has 21 strikes in the world’s most famous football competition.

After opening Argentina’s campaign with a hat-trick, Messi overtook former record holder Miroslav Klose by scoring a brace against Austria. He then found the net in successive matches against Jordan, Cape Verde and Egypt to extend his record, before Kylian Mbappe eventually surpassed his overall goal tally.

Remarkably, the Frenchman is now the highest scorer in tournament history with 22 goals despite being just 27 years old. He broke the record when he scored two in the third-place playoff – a 6-4 defeat against England.

Before Messi, the record was held by Miroslav Klose on 16 goals, who overtook the legendary Ronaldo.

Gerd Müller held the record for over three decades as he scored 14 goals over the 1970 and 1974 tournaments. Harry Kane shot up the rankings following his 2026 exploits to go level on Muller with 14.

Cristiano Ronaldo has only scored 11 goals in the competition but he holds the record for scoring in the most individual tournaments, with six. Messi has scored in five, having failed to find the back of the net in South Africa in 2010.

Pele and Uwe Seeler both shared the stage between 1958 and 1970, scoring in all four tournaments; however the Brazilian’s 12 goals is three more than the German managed.

Just Fontaine holds the record for the most goals scored at a single World Cup. He scored 13 for Les Bleus in 1958.