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Scoring a clutch goal in a tense FIFA World Cup fixture is on every forward’s bucket list. The most-celebrated tournament in the world has the power to turn men into legends, and scoring a crucial goal is the quickest way to announce oneself to the world.
Finding the back of the net at the FIFA World Cup is far from straightforward, however, as world-class defenders do everything in their power to spoil the party. Only a handful manage to break the shackles and wheel away in celebration; even fewer manage to do it consistently.
Today, we will take a look at a few gifted goalscorers and creators who have popped up with regular goals and assists at the FIFA World Cup. Here are the top five players with the highest number of goal involvements (goals + assists) in FIFA World Cup history:
Stats taken from: Transfermarkt
#5 Pele (Brazil) — 20 goal contributions
The king of football, Pele, hardly needs an introduction. The only player in history to win the FIFA World Cup thrice, Pele scored 12 times and provided eight assists in 14 World Cup matches.
Pele’s first World Cup was a successful one. Scoring six times and providing an assist in four matches, he helped Brazil to World Cup glory. He scored once in the quarter-finals against Wales (1-0 win), thrice in the semi-finals against France (5-2 win), and twice more in the final against Sweden (5-2 win).
Pele scored and assisted in the 1962 World Cup opener against Mexico but injured himself in the second match against Czechoslovakia. He would not feature for the rest of the tournament as Brazil picked up their second world championship title on the bounce.
In 1966, Pele played in two games and scored a goal as Brazil crashed out of the tournament after failing to move beyond Group 3. Pele cemented his legacy as the greatest footballer in World Cup history in 1970, scoring four times and claiming six assists in six matches. Pele scored once and provided two assists as Brazil beat Italy 4-1 in the final.
#4 Ronaldo (Brazil) — 20 goal contributions
A modern-day marvel, Ronaldo Nazario was an unstoppable force in full flight. The sensational Brazilian played in 19 World Cup fixtures, scoring a staggering 15 times and claiming five assists. Ronaldo received a World Cup winners’ medal in 1994 for being included in the squad but did not play even once.
In 1998, he scored four times and provided three assists as Brazil reached the final. He shockingly failed to live up to the billing in the final, as the Selecao lost 3-0 to Zinedine Zidane’s sensational France.
Four years later, Ronaldo returned with a vengeance, scoring a staggering eight goals in seven matches to take Canarinho to World Cup glory. Ronaldo stunningly scored both goals in the 2-0 win over Germany in the final.
#3 Miroslav Klose (Germany) — 20 goal contributions
One of the best German strikers of all time, Miroslav Klose had a hand in 20 goals in 24 FIFA World Cup games. He scored 16 goals and claimed four assists across four iterations of the tournament.
Klose scored a hat-trick in his World Cup debut in 2002, helping Germany to an 8-0 win over Saudi Arabia in their Group E opener. He scored twice more in the group stages and claimed an assist but could not score in the knockouts. Die Mannschaft made it to the final where they lost 2-0 to Ronaldo’s Brazil.
In 2006, Germany finished third behind Italy and France. Klose netted five goals and claimed two assists in four matches. Klose added four more goals in five goals at the 2010 World Cup. Germany once again finished third (behind Spain and the Netherlands) but Klose was absent from the third-place fixture.
Klose surpassed Ronaldo’s goal tally (15) to become the tournament’s all-time top scorer in 2014. He scored twice and claimed an assist as Germany bagged their fourth World Cup at Argentina’s expense in the final.
#2 Gerd Muller (Germany) — 20 goal contributions
Arguably the most lethal striker Germany has ever produced, Gerd Muller was a force to be reckoned with. Muller only played 13 World Cup matches, scoring a staggering 14 goals and providing six assists across two iterations.
Muller’s first World Cup appearance came in 1970. Muller scored two hat-tricks in Group 4, inflicting a 5-2 defeat upon Bulgaria before downing Peru 3-1. He scored 10 goals and claimed three assists in seven games as Germany finished third behind Brazil and Italy.
Four years later, Muller helped Germany to World Cup glory, scoring four times and claiming three assists in seven matches. His most important goal came in the final as it fired Die Mannschaft to a 2-1 win over Johan Cruyff’s mesmerizing Netherlands.
#1 Lionel Messi (Argentina) — 21 goal contributions
Newly-minted world champion Lionel Messi currently has the highest goal involvements in FIFA World Cup history. The legendary Argentina international has bagged 13 goals and claimed eight assists in 26 matches across five World Cups. No player in history has played more World Cup matches than the Paris Saint-Germain superstar.
Messi found the back of the net on his World Cup debut, scoring a goal and claiming an assist in the 2006 World Cup Group A win (6-0) over Serbia-Montenegro. Four years later, he failed to score but provided an assist in five World Cup matches. In 2014, he scored four goals and claimed an assist as Argentina reached the World Cup final, where they ultimately succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to Germany. Messi was awarded the Golden Ball for his exploits over the course of the tournament.
The Paris Saint-Germain man scored only once and claimed two assists at the 2018 FIFA World Cup before La Albiceleste were eliminated in the Round of 16 against France. Finally, in 2022, he fired seven times and claimed three assists in seven games to take Argentina to glory.
Messi, who scored a brace in the final against France, deservedly won another Golden Ball for his performance, becoming the first player in history to win the Golden Ball twice.
