The Golden Boot race for the competition’s top scorer is set to provide an intriguing sub-plot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup featuring Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in their last major tournament.
The pair, aged 35 and 37, now firmly in the twilight of their careers, are expected to be among the leading candidates to top the goalscoring charts in Qatar, as both bid to claim what has so far proved elusive. First World Cup trophy.
The pair have shared accolades as the best players of their generation, if not all time, for more than a decade, and they will head to the Middle East with Argentina and Portugal respectively in a bid to steal the limelight once again.
They won’t be alone though, with Brazilian forward Neymar, France superstar Kylian Mbappe and Russia 2018 winner, England’s Harry Kane, all likely to be in the mix.
It remains to be seen who will come out on top, but one thing is for sure: whichever player will etch their name into the World Cup history books.
World Cup Golden Boot all-time winner
The battle for the Golden Boot is always eagerly anticipated at the World Cup, with a curious record in men’s football that no player has won more than once.
Two former winners, with Germany’s Thomas Muller and England captain Kane among the leading contenders, will be looking to change that in Qatar.
| Tournament | Golden Boot winner | Country | Goals |
| Uruguay 1930 | Guillermo Stabile | Argentina | 8 |
| Italy 1934 | Oldrich Nejedly | Czechoslovakia | 5 |
| France 1938 | Leonidas | Brazil | 7 |
| Brazil 1950 | Ademir | Brazil | 8 |
| Switzerland 1954 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 |
| Sweden 1958 | Just Fontaine | France | 13 |
| Chile 1962 | Garrincha, Vava, LeonelSanchez, Florian Albert, Drazan Jerkovic, Valentin Ivanov | Brazil, Brazil, Chile, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Soviet Union | 4 |
| England 1966 | Eusebio | Portugal | 9 |
| Mexico 1970 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | 10 |
| West Germany 1974 | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | 7 |
| Argentina 1978 | Mario Kempes | Argentina | 6 |
| Spain 1982 | Paolo Rossi | Italy | 6 |
| Mexico 1986 | Gary Lineker | England | 6 |
| Italy 1990 | Salvatore Schillachi | Italy | 6 |
| USA 1994 | Oleg Salenko, Hristo Stoichkov | Russia, Bulgaria | 6 |
| France 1998 | Davor Suker | Croatia | 6 |
| South Korea/Japan 2002 | Ronaldo | Brazil | 8 |
| Germany 2006 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 5 |
| South Africa 2010 | Thomas Muller | Germany | 5 |
| Brazil 2014 | James Rodriguez | Colombia | 6 |
| Russia 2018 | Harry Kane | England | 6 |
Most goals scored in a single World Cup
More than 10 goals in a single tournament have been the farthest achievement for any player since the 1970s, with the average dropping to six per tournament since the turn of the century.
| Rank | Name | Country | Tournament | Goals scored in a single tournament | Overall World Cup goals |
| 1 | Just Fontaine | France | Sweden 1958 | 13 | 13 |
| 2 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | Switzerland 1954 | 11 | 11 |
| 3 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | Mexico 1970 | 10 | 14 |
| 4 | Eusebio | Portugal | England 1966 | 9 | 9 |
| 5 | Guillermo Stabile | Argentina | Uruguay 1930 | 8 | 8 |
| 5 | Ademir | Brazil | Brazil 1950 | 8 | 8 |
| 5 | Ronaldo | Brazil | Japan/South Korea 2002 | 8 | 15 |
| 8 | Leonidas | Brazil | France 1938 | 7 | 8 |
| 8 | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | West Germany 1974 | 7 | 10 |
Highest goalscorer in World Cup history
The World Cup top scorers list is dominated by European and South American hot-shots, with no players from outside these two continents featuring in the top 10.
| Rank | Name | Country | Goals | Games | Tournament appearances | Goals per game |
| 1 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 | 24 | 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 | 0.67 |
| 2 | Ronaldo | Brazil | 15 | 19 | 1994*, 1998, 2002, 2006 | 0.79 |
| 3 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | 14 | 13 | 1970, 1974 | 1.08 |
| 4 | Just Fontaine | France | 13 | 6 | 1958 | 2.17 |
| 5 | Pele | Brazil | 12 | 14 | 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 | 0.86 |
| 6 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 5 | 1954 | 2.20 |
| 6 | Jurgen Klinsmann | West Germany/Germany | 11 | 17 | 1990, 1994, 1998 | 0.65 |
| 8 | Helmut Rahn | West Germany | 10 | 10 | 1954, 1958 | 1.00 |
| 8 | Gary Lineker | England | 10 | 12 | 1986, 1990 | 0.83 |
| 8 | Gabriel Batistuta | Argentina | 10 | 12 | 1994, 1998, 2002 | 0.83 |
| 8 | Teofilo Cubillas | Peru | 10 | 13 | 1970, 1978, 1982** | 0.77 |
| 8 | Thomas Muller | Germany | 10 | 16 | 2010, 2014, 2018** | 0.63 |
| 8 | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | 10 | 20 | 1974, 1978, 1982 | 0.50 |
*Although he was included in the World Cup team, he did not participate
**Appeared in the World Cup but failed to score
Most goals in a World Cup match
The 1994 World Cup Golden Boot race continued the pattern of consecutive tournaments where the award was won by six goals, with Russian star Oleg Salenko and Bulgarian icon Horst Stoichkov sharing the award in the United States.
However, the tournament still holds the record for most goals scored by a player in a single match.
Salenko scored five goals in Russia’s 6-1 Group B win over Cameroon in their final group stage game, but it was not enough to secure a place in the knockout stages.
🖐️ The only man to score 5 times in a single #WorldCup match turns 52 today 🎂
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 25, 2021
🇷🇺 Happy birthday, Oleg Salenko 🥳pic.twitter.com/oHA5GSIQwU