For a footballer, there is no stage bigger than the FIFA World Cup. Argentina's Lionel Messi broke Miroslav Klose's goals record in the 2026 World Cup, scoring against Austria for his 17th and 18th career World Cup goals.
Here are the players who have scored the most goals in men's World Cup history:
Lionel Messi (Argentina), 18
Kylian Mbappé (France), 16
Miroslav Klose (Germany), 16
Ronaldo (Brazil), 15
Gerd Müller (Germany), 14
Just Fontaine (France), 13
Pelé (Brazil), 12
Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany), 11
Sándor Kocsis (Hungary), 11
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), 10
Harry Kane (England), 10
Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina), 10
Teófilo Cubillas (Peru), 10
Grzegorz Lato (Poland), 10
Gary Lineker (England), 10
Thomas Müller (Germany), 10
Helmut Rahn (Germany), 10
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