The FIFA World Cup has been around for 92 years and has constantly been in the centre of attention. This is due to the fact that football is a major sporting event celebrated by billions of fans worldwide. Yes, the World Cup is no stranger to controversies, but it is still an event that unites all football players around the world.
There are numerous disputes on who scored the best, or the most goals in FIFA’s long history. It has been said that over 2,000 goals have been scored in the 21 editions of the final matches in the World Cup, and the first person to ever score a World Cup goal was a Frenchman named Lucien Laurent.
Furthermore, in the top five best scorers, there isn’t an active footballer in the list. Maybe after this year’s World Cup, we might see either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi step up in the list, to leave their mark as our generation’s greatest players.
The list was created by 90 minutes, and the players in the top five will not shock you but instead bring you back to a sense of nostalgia.
Number 5: Pele
The Brazilian national has scored 12 goals in the World Cup, it might not be seen as plenty but it is considerably a lot, especially due to the amount of matches and the four year gaps in between. He participated in 14 games.
Pele started his career in football with Santos at the age of 15-years-old then, represented Brazil at the tender age of 16, and has won three FIFA World Cups, 1958, 1962 and 1970. For a Black man from that era, he was definitely revolutionary and created shockwaves all over the world with his impressive skills.
Furthermore, he was hailed as a national hero in Brazil. He lifted his country’s name for the world to recognise. At 82-years-old, the record breaking man is still alive and strong.
Number 4: Just Fontaine
Frenchmen are always stars in the World Cup and Fontaine is no exception. The Frenchman scored 13 goals in one World Cup. He participated in six games and set the record all the way back in 1958.
Fontaine, born in Morocco to a French father and a Spanish mother, started his career at USM Casablanca in 1950. He must have been 17-years-old at the time. He debuted for France in 1953 and scored a hat-trick against Luxembourg.
Similar to Pele, Fontaine is still strong and kicking at the age of 89-years-old. Furthermore, he was named by Pele to be one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Number 3: Gerd Muller
The German player, Gerd Muller has participated in 13 games and has scored 14 times. He began his football career with TSV 1861 Nördlingen and later on he would join Bayern Munich when he was 18-years-old in 1964.
Furthermore, he had the record for the most scores in the Bundesliga games for their 1971-1972 season. That record was only beaten recently by Lewandowski just last season with just one more score.
Unfortunately, the World Cup legend passed away at the age of 75-years-old in 2021. He was plagued with Alzheimer disease.
Number 2: Ronaldo
Not to be confused with the Portuguese G.O.A.T Cristiano Ronaldo, this is the Brazilian Ronaldo. He has scored 15 goals in 19 games. He moved to PSV in 1994 at the young age of 18-years-old and was hailed as a young superstar.
He won the Copa America in 1997 and won the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Furthermore, he is now the owner of Real Valladolid. It is rare to see a former footballer owning clubs after they have stopped playing.
He is still alive and well now at only 46-years-old, one of the younger ones on the list. Who knows what football related business he might venture in next.
Number 1: Miroslav Klose
For the number one spot, the German Miroslav Klose hits the spot. He has participated in 24 games and scored 16 goals in all of his FIFA World Cup participations. He took home the golden boot in 2006.
Klose started his career with FC Homburg at 20-years-old. He later joined Bayern Munich, similar to Gerd Muller. He retired from the German national team after the 2014 World Cup.
He is currently the youngest player on the list at only 44-years-old.
There is some anticipation of our current top players climbing in the World Cup. It would be interesting to see decades from now on the number of scores that Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland would have under their belts.
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