The Golden Boot Legacy: Who is the FIFA World Cup all-time top scorer?
Currently, the all-time top scorer heading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup is Germany's Miroslav Klose, with 16 goals across four tournaments (2002–2014). He is followed closely by Brazilian legend Ronaldo (15) and fellow German icon Gerd Müller (14).
However, the modern era is closing in, with two active players in touching distance of Klose's record: Lionel Messi (13 goals) and Kylian Mbappé (12 goals). Argentina and France are two of the favorites, meaning both forwards should play a crucial role in the FIFA World Cup 2026.
FIFA World Cup all-time top scorers
- Miroslav Klose (Germany): 16 goals
- Ronaldo (Brazil): 15 goals
- Gerd Müller (West Germany): 14 goals
- Just Fontaine (France) and Lionel Messi (Argentina): 13 goals each
- Kylian Mbappé (France) and Pelé (Brazil): 12 goals each
The playmakers: Which player has the most assists in FIFA World Cup history?
Goals get the headlines, but creativity is often the key to unlocking a game at the FIFA World Cup. However, there are conflicting stats in this category. Pelé is widely credited with the most assists in FIFA World Cup history, with 10. However, as assists were not officially recorded during his era, not all sources cite him as no. 1. Lionel Messi holds the modern-era record based on FIFA-tracked data with nine assists.
Messi also holds the record for the most tournaments assisted in (5—Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, and Qatar 2022) and the most assists in FIFA World Cup knockout history (6), tied with West Germany's Fritz Walter.
Disciplinary records: Which players have the most red and yellow cards in FIFA World Cup history?
From one Argentine icon to another, the player with the most bookings in FIFA World Cup history is Javier Mascherano, with 7 yellow cards. When it comes to sending offs, Zinedine Zidane (France) and Rigobert Song (Cameroon) share the dubious honor of having the most red cards in World Cup history, with 2 each.
Meanwhile, the fastest yellow card in World Cup history went to Mexico's Jesús Gallardo during the 2018 FIFA World Cup (11 seconds into Mexico vs. Sweden), while the quickest sending off was Uruguay's José Batista at the 1986 FIFA World Cup (56 seconds into Uruguay vs. Scotland).
Additional FIFA World Cup records and stats
- Most goals in a single FIFA World Cup tournament: Just Fontaine (France) scored 13 goals at the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
- Fastest goal in World Cup history: Hakan Şükür scored for Turkey against South Korea in 2002 just 11 seconds after kickoff.
- Most goals in FIFA World Cup Finals: France's Kylian Mbappé (4 goals).
- Most FIFA World Cup tournaments scored in by a single player: Cristiano Ronaldo with 5 goals (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022).
- FIFA World Cup tournament with the most goals: Qatar 2022 (172 goals).
- Most FIFA World Cup clean sheets by a single player: Peter Shilton (England) and Fabien Barthez (France) with 10 clean sheets each.
- Most saves in a single FIFA World Cup match: USMNT's Tim Howard (16 saves in USA vs. Belgium, Brazil 2014).
- Most FIFA World Cup trophies won by a single manager/coach: Vittorio Pozzo (two trophies for 1934 and 1938).
*Vittorio Pozzo is the only manager in history to win back-to-back World Cup trophies.*