The 8 Players Who’ve Scored The Most Goals In A Single World Cup

Most teams that go on a deep run in the World Cup have at least one star player who managed to rise to the occasion on soccer’s biggest stage, and that is certainly the case with the ones who managed to score the most goals over the course of a single tournament.

No players have scored more goals in one World Cup than these clutch performers

There isn’t a single sporting event on the planet that’s surrounded by more hype than the World Cup, as billions of people around the globe tune in to watch the tournament when it unfolds every four years.

The international showdown features the best players in the world and provides them with the opportunity to cement themselves as legends while vying to win soccer’s biggest prize. There’s no better way to help your team achieve that goal than racking up some goals, and some notable names have more than delivered on that front over the decades.

Here’s a look at the leaders when it comes to the most goals in a single World Cup, all of whom unsurprisingly secured the Golden Boot when everything was said and done.

T-6. Kylian Mbappé: 8 (France, 2022)

There were three men who’d scored exactly eight goals at a World Cup heading into 2026, and I’m going to start with the most recent occurrence and work my way back.

Kylian Mbappé was coming off his first season with Paris Saint-Germain when he made his World Cup debut for France at the age of 19 in 2018, and he netted four goals for Les Bleus in that tournament while helping them secure their second title.

He’d firmly cemented himself as the best player in Ligue 1 when France headed to Qatar in 2022. He had a goal in their win over Australia to open up group play as well as both of the tallies in a 2-1 victory over Denmark.

They advanced to the knockout round and opened things up against Poland, where Mbappé added two more to his total. He was held scoreless in the two games France won to punch its ticket to the final, but he ended that brief slump with a hat trick against Argentina (two of which came on a penalty shot, including the one that tied things at three goals apiece in the closing minutes of extra time).

He also opened up the ensuing shootout with a successful conversion, but Argentina ultimately prevailed.

T-6. Ronaldo: 8 (Brazil, 2002)

Brazil has produced a number of soccer icons who’ve helped them win five World Cup titles, and no one has had more goals while playing for them in the tournament than Ronaldo. He had 15 when everything was said and done, and more than half of them came in 2002.

Ronaldo was a member of four World Cup teams, but he didn’t appear in any games when he was tapped for the roster at the age of 17 in 1994 while watching his team win it all. He had four goals in his official debut in 1998, a run that ended with a 3-0 loss to France in a final where he was clearly dealing with the lingering effects of the seizure he’d suffered just hours before it got underway.

However, Ronaldo got a shot at redemption in 2022 and took full advantage. He had at least one goal in their first four games, which included two against Costa Rica to cap off the group stage Brazil emerged from with a spotless record.

The goal streak was snapped against England in the quarterfinals, but he was responsible for the rest of the ones they scored in a 1-0 win over Turkey in the semis and a 2-0 result against Germany to clinch the trophy.

T-6. Guillermo Stábile: 8 (Argentina, 1930)

This one is a bit of a throwback, as Guillermo Stábile takes us all the way back to the very first World Cup in 1930 and earned his spot here while playing in just four games.

Stábile was sidelined for Argentina’s opening match against France, but he proved he deserved to start with a hat trick in a 6-3 win over Mexico in his World Cup debut. He added two more against Chile to propel them to the semifinals, and he also had a couple against the United States in that game.

If you can do some simple math, you already know he had a single goal against Uruguay, as he gave Argentina a 2-1 lead in the first half before the host country surged back to earn a 4-2 win against Stábile’s squad.

T-4. Eusébio: 9 (Portugal, 1966)

You will not be surprised to learn Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way when it comes to the Portuguese players who’ve scored the highest total number of goals at the World Cup (he had 22 heading into his sixth appearance in 2026). However, no one from that country has more in a single tournament than Eusébio.

Portugal didn’t have to travel far to head to England for the World Cup in 1966. Eusébio didn’t contribute on the goal front when they opened group play with a 3-1 win over Hungary, but he had his first in a victory over Bulgaria and two as they dispatched Portugal to head into the knockout round undefeated.

His team found itself facing a 3-0 deficit against North Korea 25 minutes in the first half of the quarterfinals, but he erased it with four straight goals (including a couple of penalties) en route to a 5-3 comeback. Portugal ended up losing to England, the eventual champions, in the semifinal, where Eusébio scored the lone goal in the 2-1 defeat.

T-4. Ademir: 9 (Brazil, 1950)

Brazil hosted the World Cup in 1950, and Ademir helped treat the home crowd to a 4-0 win in their opening game against Mexico with a couple of goals. He didn’t get any when they played Switzerland to a draw, but he tallied another as they capped off group play with a win over Yugoslavia to advance to the final round.

It all came together for Ademir against Sweden, as he had four goals in a 7-1 rout. He scored two more against Spain in a similarly dominant 6-1 showing to set up a championship showdown with Uruguay, but those ended up being his last as they fell short in the final.

3. Gerd Müller: 10 (West Germany, 1970)

Only three men have hit double digits in the goal column at the World Cup, and West Germany’s Gerd Müller is the most recent one to achieve that feat.

Müller put on an absolute show while helping West Germany advance from Group 4 with a spotless record. He opened things up with a goal in a 2-1 win over Morocco, and he had back-to-back hat tricks against Bulgaria and Peru.

He emerged as the hero in the quarterfinals against England, as the two sides were tied 2-2 before he scored what ended up being the game-winner in the second frame of extra time. He also had two following the end of regulation against Italy in what was a 1-1 game after 90 minutes, but the opposing team managed to get three to advance to the final.

2. Sándor Kocsis: 11 (Hungary, 1954)

 

Sándor Kocsis was the first player to hit double digits at the World Cup, and he did so while representing Hungary in 1954.

He did the bulk of the damage in the group stage where his country steamrolled the competition: a hat trick in a 9-0 victory over South Korea that is tied for the biggest blowout in World Cup history, and four goals in an 8-3 win over West Germany.

He only cooled down a little bit when the knockout stage began, as he had two goals apiece in the quarters and semis as Hungary dispatched Brazil and Uruguay to make it to the final (where he was scoreless in a loss where West Germany got some sweet revenge).

He broke Ademir’s World Cup record four years after it was set, but the new one also didn’t end up standing for very long.

1. Just Fontaine: 13 (France, 1958)

We’re wrapping things up with Just Fontaine, the Frenchman who topped Koscic four years after he set the record to establish a new mark that hasn’t been eclipsed close to 70 years later.

Fontaine set the tone in France’s first game in the group stage with a hat trick in their 7-3 win over Paraguay. He was the only man who scored for them in a 3-2 loss to Yugoslavia, and they advanced to the next round with a 2-1 defeat of Scotland where he netted the game-winner.

Fontaine helped them get a win in the quarterfinals with two more against Northern Ireland, but they were forced to settle for a third-place showdown with West Germany after a 5-2 loss to Brazil in the semifinals. He had one goal in that match, but he put his foot on the gas in the consolation game by scoring four goals in the 6-3 win.

They may have been slightly meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but they still put him at the top of this list.