Top 5 goal scorers in FIFA World Cup history

The FIFA World Cup 2022 is 6 months away from now, slated to be held in Qatar in the month of November. One of the biggest sporting events in the world, the competition has seen great goalscorers since its inception in 1930. Here, we are going to know about the top 5 goal scorers in FIFA World Cup history.

Know in detail about the Top 5 goal scorers in FIFA World Cup history

5. Pele – 12 goals (Brazil)

Many on this planet consider him as the god of football, Pele is known as the most successful sports figure of the 20^th century. He is still the leading scorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 matches. At the age of 17, the Brazilian remain the youngest player to ever play in a world cup.

The former Santos playmaker represented his nation at an early age but was never shy of showcasing his prowess on the pitch. He is the only player ever to win three world cups i.e., in 1958, 1962, and 1966, scoring 12 goals in 14 matches.

4. Just Fontaine – 13 goals (France)

The retired French international is one of the most recognized figures in football. His unbelievable record of scoring 13 goals in just six matches in the 1958 world cup is too unrealistic to believe. The tally secured him the Golden Boot.

Fontaine spent 7 years on the national team, scoring 30 goals in 21 matches. He played in only one world cup. In 2004, Pele named him one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers in a FIFA Awards ceremony.

3. Gerd Muller – 14 goals (Germany)

On the 3rd spot, we have the legendary German striker. Nicknamed the “Der Bomber”, Gerd Muller has achieved every possible record both with club and country. At the club level, he is remembered as the player scoring 85 goals in a single calendar year in 1972, until that was broken by none other than Lionel Messi in 2012.

The German striker scored a total of 68 goals in 62 matches. Muller’s international career started in 1966 and ended in 1974 with the world cup victory over the Netherlands in Munich. He also won the Golden Boot in the 1970 world cup scoring 10 goals.

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2. Ronaldo – 15 goals (Brazil)

Widely considered the greatest player of all time, the Brazilian has been the influence of the generation of strikers that have followed. Ronaldo is the third-highest goalscorer for Brazil with 62 goals from 98 matches. At the age of 17, R9 was the youngest member of the squad to win the 1994 world cup.

The Brazilian’s most notable exploits were seen in the 2002 world cup. He won the Golden Boot for scoring 8 goals in that tournament. The team was regarded as the golden generation of Brazil and went on to win the tournament. R9 also won the Golden Ball in the 1998 world cup, due to his influence in reaching the final. In 2006, Ronaldo scored his 15^th world cup goal, a record at that time.

1. Miroslav Klose – 16 goals (Germany)

In the first place, we have the Germany International Miroslav Klose. He was part of the 2014 world cup squad that won the tournament. The German featured in the 2002, 2006, and 2010 world cups too. Klose scored a total of 71 goals from 137 matches topping the list of Germany’s all-time leading goal scorers.

Klose won the Golden Boot in 2006 scoring 5 goals in the tournament. A very interesting fact states that, whenever Klose scored, Germany had never lost the match. His two goals in the 2014 world cup helped him in overtaking Ronaldo as the all-time leading scorer in world cup history.