Since the launch of the World Cup in 1930, scoring goals has been the shortest path to glory, while the title of tournament top scorer has remained one of the most valuable and prestigious individual awards, as it immortalizes the name of its owner in the record of the greatest World Cup scorers.

Although the award has officially been called the Golden Boot since 2010, FIFA counts the top scorers of all editions since the first World Cup held in Uruguay in 1930.

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Argentine Guillermo Stábile was the first top scorer in World Cup history after scoring 8 goals in the 1930 edition, before the title was passed on to the great forwards who made the glory of their national teams. Frenchman Just Fontaine remains the historical record holder for the most goals in a single edition, after scoring 13 goals in the 1958 Sweden World Cup, a record that has stood for more than six decades and no player has managed to break to this day. In the modern era, Brazilian Ronaldo was crowned top scorer of the 2002 World Cup, then German Miroslav Klose in 2006, German Thomas Müller in 2010, Colombian James Rodríguez in 2014, English Harry Kane in 2018, before Frenchman Kylian Mbappé snatched the Golden Boot in the 2022 Qatar World Cup after scoring 8 goals.

World Cup Top Scorers Throughout History

* 1930: Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) – 8 goals. * 1934: Oldřich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia) – 5 goals. * 1938: Leônidas (Brazil) – 7 goals. * 1950: Ademir (Brazil) – 8 goals. * 1954: Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) – 11 goals. * 1958: Just Fontaine (France) – 13 goals. * 1962: Garrincha (Brazil), Vavá (Brazil), Flórián Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (Soviet Union), Dražan Jerković (Yugoslavia), Leonel Sánchez (Chile) – 4 goals each. * 1966: Eusébio (Portugal) – 9 goals. * 1970: Gerd Müller (West Germany) – 10 goals. * 1974: Grzegorz Lato (Poland) – 7 goals. * 1978: Mario Kempes (Argentina) – 6 goals. * 1982: Paolo Rossi (Italy) – 6 goals. * 1986: Gary Lineker (England) – 6 goals. * 1990: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) – 6 goals. * 1994: Oleg Salenko (Russia) and Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria) – 6 goals each. * 1998: Davor Šuker (Croatia) – 6 goals. * 2002: Ronaldo (Brazil) – 8 goals. * 2006: Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 5 goals. * 2010: Thomas Müller (Germany) – 5 goals. * 2014: James Rodríguez (Colombia) – 6 goals. * 2018: Harry Kane (England) – 6 goals. * 2022: Kylian Mbappé (France) – 8 goals.

As the 2026 World Cup approaches its conclusion, attention turns to the identity of the new top scorer who will join this historic list and place his name alongside the greatest marksmen who have passed through the biggest tournament in world football.