Making a decisive contribution in the final third is arguably one of the hardest parts of the beautiful game. Whether it’s creating a viable scoring opportunity for a teammate or finding the net themselves, attacking players are often judged by their productivity in this area of the pitch. That’s why a goal or assist provides the protagonist with an immense feeling of joy, satisfaction, and occasionally relief.
The higher the level, the more difficult it is to breach an opposing defence. Therefore, registering a direct goal involvement in a World Cup final may represent the pinnacle of any given player’s career. However, some have the technical skill, mental resilience, and raw attacking instincts to replicate this feat on numerous occasions.
Understanding the data
As goals have always been considered an appropriate measure to gauge the quality of an attacking player, scoring records are as old as football itself. Therefore, finding out how many goals a player has scored at a major tournament or during a particular league season is often a relatively straightforward task.
However, it’s an entirely different story when attempting to access assist data. While the goalscoring metric is still ultimately seen as the most important stat in football, the creativity level of a player – particularly those who operate as advanced midfielders, wingers, or even in a traditional centre-forward role – is discussed far more nowadays than it was by previous generations. For many competitions, assist records weren’t even compiled until the turn of the 21st century.
Furthermore, due to the nature of the action they’re aiming to track, assist stats are shrouded in subjectivity. It’s difficult to create a universally agreed template for what constitutes an assist, as opinions will always differ as to whether a cross, pass, or any form of distribution has directly led to a goal. For example, if a player lays the ball off to a teammate who proceeds to jink past five opponents and lash the ball into the top corner, can they claim an assist? There’s also the matter of ‘winning’ penalties – should the player who was fouled be credited with an assist if his colleague converts the subsequent spot-kick?
Therefore, although assists records clearly give us a valid insight into a player’s creative capabilities, it’s always important to remember that their numbers can vary depending on where the data was sourced.
World Cup goals and assists
Having contextualised the numbers, we can now dive into our analysis. In the notes below, we review the players who have racked up the most goals and assists in World Cup history.
Most goals
1. Miroslav Klose (Germany): 16 goals / 24 appearances
2. Ronaldo (Brazil): 15 goals / 19 appearances
3. Gerd Müller (Germany): 14 goals / 13 appearances
4. Just Fontaine (France): 13 goals / 6 appearances
5. Lionel Messi (Argentina)*: 13 goals / 26 appearances
Most assists
1. Lionel Messi (Argentina)*: 8 assists / 26 appearances
2. Diego Maradona (Argentina): 8 assists / 21 appearances
3. Pierre Littbarski (West Germany): 7 assists / 18 appearances
4. Grzegorz Lato (Poland): 7 assists / 20 appearances
5. Multiple players on 6 assists: Francesco Totti (Italy): 11 appearances, David Beckham (England): 13 appearances, Pelé (Brazil): 14 appearances, Thomas Häßler (Germany): 14 appearances, Thomas Müller (Germany): 14 appearances
*Also holds the record for the most assists in World Cup history.
Lethal goalscorers
Let’s take a closer look at the World Cup’s leading marksmen.
Miroslav Klose (16 goals)
The leading goalscorer in World Cup history, Miroslav Klose was an instinctive finisher who relished his role as Germany's main talisman.
Klose set the tone for his remarkable scoring exploits early on, registering a hat-trick against Saudi Arabia on his World Cup debut in 2002. The Polish-born attacker also netted in his next two appearances, helping Die Mannschaft secure four points from group stage clashes with Ireland and Cameroon. Those five goals – which remarkably all came courtesy of headed efforts – earned him the silver boot, while his teammate Oliver Kahn was declared Player of the Tournament.
Having commenced the 2006 campaign with a couple of braces against Costa Rica and Ecuador, Klose nodded home the all-important equaliser in the tense quarter-final meeting with Argentina. Although Germany would progress to the next round after edging the South Americans in a nerve-shredding penalty shootout, there would be no fairytale ending on native soil as eventual winners Italy dumped out the hosts in Dortmund. However, receiving the coveted golden boot award would have undoubtedly provided Klose with a small crumb of comfort.
The former Bayern Munich frontman then recorded a further four goals in South Africa, despite missing his team’s group stage triumph over Ghana through suspension. In a fitting end to his magical World Cup career, Klose helped propel Germany to the 2014 final after finding the net twice earlier on in the tournament, before hoisting the famous Jules Rimet Trophy aloft at the famous Maracanã Stadium.
Ronaldo (15 goals)
Regarded by many to be one of the greatest attacking players of all time, Ronaldo could light up any match with his electric pace, sublime skill, and dynamic dribbling capabilities.
Having watched on from the sidelines as Brazil clinched a fourth World Cup triumph in California, Ronaldo was heavily involved in his country’s efforts at the next edition of FIFA’s most prestigious international competition.
After breaking the deadlock in a comfortable win over Morocco at the Stade de la Beaujoire, the twinkled-toed striker netted a double in Brazil’s 4-1 rout of fellow South Americans Chile in the last sixteen. Ronaldo then scored the opener in the semi-final, but soon found himself with the unenviable task of taking the first penalty in the subsequent shootout following Patrick Kluivert’s late headed equaliser. The ex-Inter Milan star coolly slotted home, ensuring the Seleção progressed to a second consecutive final.
Ronaldo’s most prolific World Cup campaign came four years after that maiden appearance in France, as he struck an eye-watering eight goals in East Asia. He netted in all but one of his seven outings, allowing Rivaldo and Ronaldinho to share some of the limelight in the quarter-final victory over England.
Although Brazil uncharacteristically only made it to the quarter-final stage in 2006, Ronaldo still found time to make a memorable impact in Germany. Before bidding a fond farewell to the World Cup stage, he struck three goals at Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion across meetings with Japan and Ghana.
Gerd Müller (14 goals)
The late Gerd Müller only featured in two World Cups, but the German marksman certainly seized his opportunity in both 1970 and 1974.
The competition’s third all-time top scorer, Müller wasted no time in finding the net as he proceeded to register a staggering ten goals in his opening five World Cup appearances. Having dispatched a crucial late header against Morocco on his debut, the predatory striker went on to claim back-to-back hat-tricks in Germany’s remaining two group games.
Müller then netted the decisive goal in the thrilling quarter-final encounter with arch-rivals England, before bagging a brace in a chaotic period of extra-time at the Azteca Stadium. Although the Italians prevailed in that crazy semi-final, Müller would take some solace from establishing an unassailable lead at the summit of the top scorer charts.
Despite not being quite as prolific four years later, the four-time Bundesliga champion made an even more pronounced contribution to his country’s success. After netting three goals across the opening two group stages, Müller fired home the winner in the final as the Germans secured silverware on home soil.
Just Fontaine (13 goals)
It’s unlikely that anyone will ever replicate Just Fontaine’s incredible goalscoring feats at the 1958 World Cup, as his miraculous record continues to stand the test of time. The revered Frenchman netted a remarkable 13 times in his six appearances in Sweden, averaging more than two goals per game.
A quick-fire hat-trick on his World Cup bow was a clear sign of things to come, with the Marrakesh-born marksman adding to his tally against Yugoslavia and Scotland in his next two outings. Fontaine’s second brace of the competition helped France swat aside Northern Ireland in the last eight, but his early strike past Brazilian goalkeeping legend Gilmar proved futile in his country’s bid to progress to a first-ever World Cup final.
However, the two-time French Cup winner saved his most clinical performance until last, hitting four goals in Gothenburg as Les Bleus clinched a third-place finish by beating reigning world champions Germany.
Lionel Messi (13 goals)
Arguably the greatest player to have ever crossed the white line, Lionel Messi has rewritten the record books of almost every competition he’s participated in.
A mere eight days after celebrating his nineteenth birthday, the La Masia graduate scored on his World Cup debut as Argentina battered Serbia & Montenegro. That late strike in Gelsenkirchen would surprisingly turn out to be his only goal at the 2006 World Cup, but his failure to find the net in South Africa was a huge shock to anyone who had tracked his progress throughout the intervening years.
However, Messi soon made amends. The diminutive attacker commenced the Brazil-hosted 2014 World Cup by netting the winner in contests with Bosnia and Iran, before hitting a double in the five-goal thriller against Nigeria to help La Albiceleste secure top spot in Group B. He was unable to add to his tally in the knockout rounds, but did hold his nerve in the semi-final shootout as he fired past Dutch ‘stopper Jasper Cillessen.
It was just a single goal for Messi in Russia as Argentina crashed out at the Round of 16 stage, but this disappointment was soon forgotten following his historic exploits in Qatar. Knowing that a long-awaited World Cup success would forever immortalise him in the eyes of the adoring Argentinian public, ‘La Pulga’ set about his mission like a man possessed.
Having already chalked up five goals en route to the showpiece, Messi struck twice in Lusail to help keep a relentless Kylian Mbappé in check, before casually stroking home Argentina’s opening penalty in the shootout.
Chief creative architects
Although goalscorers invariably steal the headlines, it’s also crucial to recognise those who consistently provide a creative spark. Without the input of these intelligent players, most teams would struggle to engineer scoring opportunities.
Due to the unreliability of historic data (for the reasons outlined previously) and the high volume of players who have six World Cup assists to their name, it seems more advantageous to focus exclusively on the two legendary Argentinians at the top of our list.
Diego Maradona (8 assists)
Gracefully jinking past opponents and delivering incisive through-balls into the path of his onrushing teammates, Diego Maradona could unlock even the most watertight of defences with consummate ease. The pint-sized playmaker demonstrated this rare talent on numerous occasions in World Cup contests, enabling him to make a major creative impact across his four tournament appearances.
Although he didn’t manage to register an assist in his maiden World Cup campaign in 1982, Maradona was nonetheless a vital component of Argentina’s attacking proposition. In addition to netting twice in a resounding victory over Hungary, he engineered numerous goal-scoring opportunities, but his teammates unfortunately struggled to find their shooting boots in Spain.
However, his creative work led to far more tangible results in Mexico four years later, as Maradona claimed five assists en route to an iconic World Cup triumph. Having set up all three goals in Argentina’s early 3-1 win over South Korea, the Napoli star rounded off the group stage by registering another assist against Bulgaria.
After his infamous ‘Hand of God’ moment and mesmerising solo goal in La Albiceleste’s quarter-final clash with England, Maradona made another defining contribution in the showpiece. With only a split-second of thinking time, ‘El Diego’ volleyed a clever pass forward towards Jorge Burruchaga, who slotted past Harald Schumacher to send the Azteca Stadium into raptures.
Although his influence had gradually begun to wane by the time Italia 90’ rolled around, the charismatic star was still able to grab two assists before Germany avenged their defeat in Mexico City by beating Argentina in the final. Maradona’s unsavoury antics in 1994 are well-documented, but it’s worth mentioning that he did record an eighth and final World Cup assist as Argentina defeated Nigeria in Massachusetts.
Lionel Messi (8 assists)
Equally known for his immense creative talents as he is for consistently finding the net, Messi complements his exceptional World Cup goals tally with an extremely healthy number of assists.
Within four minutes of being introduced as a second-half substitute in that maiden appearance against Serbia & Montenegro, Messi laid it on a plate for Hernán Crespo to tap in from close range. A second assist of what would soon become a glorious World Cup career arrived four years later, as the ex-Barcelona forward set up Carlos Tevez’s opener during the early stages of the convincing Round of 16 win over Mexico in Johannesburg.
At the same stage four years later, Messi unselfishly handed Ángel Di María the opportunity to make himself a hero, an invitation that the former Real Madrid winger was ready to accept. He then added a further two assists to his haul in yet another last sixteen tie in 2018, but couldn’t prevent Argentina succumbing to eventual winners France in a barnstorming contest at the Ak Bars Arena.
After claiming a goal and an assist in Argentina’s meetings with Mexico in the group stages of the 2022 World Cup, Messi twice emulated this feat in the knockout stages. After setting up Nahuel Molina’s quarter-final opener, the eight-time Ballon d’Or recipient combined forces with attacking colleague Julián Alvarez to hand Lionel Scaloni’s men an unassailable lead over Croatia.
World Cup goals and assists: FAQs
1. Who has scored the most goals in World Cup history?
Miroslav Klose. The retired German striker recorded 16 goals in 24 World Cup appearances.
2. Who has scored the most goals at a single World Cup tournament?
No player has scored more goals at a World Cup than Just Fontaine, who netted 13 times in Sweden in 1958.
3. Who has claimed the most assists in World Cup history?
Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. The Argentinian duo have both registered eight assists across their respective World Cup appearances.
4. Which active player is most likely to break Miroslav Klose’s scoring record?
Although there are several candidates who could exceed Klose’s impressive scoring tally, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé both have a decent chance of achieving this feat in the summer.
5. How many World Cup goals has Cristiano Ronaldo scored?
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored eight goals in 22 World Cup appearances. Had Portugal progressed to the latter stages of the tournament on a greater number of occasions, it’s likely that the Al-Nassr striker would have found the net on more occasions.