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Miroslav Klose, Germany: 16 goals, 24 matches, four tournaments
A World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, Miroslav Klose’s record-breaking 16th goal came in the 7-1 semi-final demolition of Brazil. His strike against the host nation was an “emblematic poacher’s finish” that became “synonymous” with the forward, said Liam Newman on Bleacher Report. Klose scored in four separate World Cups – 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. Uwe Seeler and Pelé are the other players to have achieved that feat, while Cristiano Ronaldo has scored at five.
Ronaldo, Brazil: 15 goals, 19 matches, three tournaments
The “original” Ronaldo’s tally of 15 goals in just 19 appearances across three tournaments is “rightly admired”, said Matt Furniss on The Analyst. He was part of Brazil’s World Cup-winning squad in 1994, but did not play. However, in 2002 “Il Fenomeno” played a starring role with both goals in the final against Germany.
Gerd Müller, West Germany: 14 goals, 13 matches, two tournaments
German legend Gerd Müller, who died in 2021 aged 75, was a “brilliant” footballer who was “admired for his prolific goal-scoring and his role in the 1974 World Cup”, said Peter Mason in The Guardian. Müller scored the winner for West Germany in the 1974 final against the Netherlands. Including his 14 goals in 13 World Cup games, Müller scored 68 goals in just 62 matches for his country.
Just Fontaine, France: 13 goals, six matches, one tournament
French striker Just Fontaine only played in one World Cup tournament, 1958 in Sweden, but he hit 13 goals in just six matches. His 13 goals still stands as the record for the most scored in a single edition and “he wasn’t even wearing his own boots”, said Rob Smyth in The Guardian. “He had to borrow a pair from a team-mate.”
Lionel Messi, Argentina: 13 goals, 26 matches, five tournaments
Lionel Messi scored seven goals as Argentina lifted the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar. The Argentine captain finished his World Cup career with 13 goals – in what is now a record 26 appearances in men’s World Cups. At Qatar 2022 he also won the golden ball for best player at the tournament.
Pelé, Brazil: 12 goals, 14 matches, four tournaments
Regarded as one of the best footballers of all time, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, won the World Cup with Brazil on three occasions – 1958, 1962 and 1970 – and is the only player to have achieved that feat. Scoring in the World Cup is “one of the highest honours a player can achieve”, said Kealan Hughes in The Sun. “That is even more true if you are still a teenager.” The youngest player to win the World Cup, Pelé was just 17 years and 249 days old when he scored twice in the 5-2 win over hosts Sweden in the 1958 final.
Kylian Mbappé, France: 12 goals, 14 matches, two tournaments
With eight goals, including a superb hat-trick in the final against Argentina, Kylian Mbappé won the golden boot at Qatar 2022. The France striker now has 12 goals from two tournaments – he also scored four as Les Bleus won the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
Sándor Kocsis, Hungary: 11 goals, five matches, one tournament
Like Just Fontaine, Hungary’s Sándor Kocsis was another player who excelled in a single World Cup, scoring 11 goals in five matches in 1954. As “clinical” as fellow Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás, in 68 international appearances for his country Kocsis scored 75 times, said Trevor Murray in These Football Times. “Just let that sink in for a moment”, Kocsis’s goals-to-games ratio was a “mind-blowing” 1.10 per match – that is “quite simply, an astonishing number”.
Jürgen Klinsmann, Germany: 11 goals, 17 matches, three tournaments
As a player, Jürgen Klinsmann won the 1990 World Cup with West Germany and as a coach led his unified country to third place in 2006. He also played in the 1994 and 1998 editions, finishing his World Cup career with 11 goals in 17 games. “I think for every football player, playing in the World Cup is the biggest thing that can happen to you,” he said in an interview with Goal. “And if you have the luck to win a World Cup, it will stay with you for the rest of your life.”
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