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The World Cup is the most esteemed event in football which occurs every four years. Like the Olympics, it is a means at which the world unites to watch sports — football in this case — not just for the love it but for the historic deeds, cultural heritage and record-breaking feats associated with it.
Being the highest goal scorer in a major tournament like the Euros, AFCON, and Copa America is not an easy thing, much less on the biggest stage. The benefit that goes along with it is the high demand of the player by other clubs.
With much being said, let's take a look at the players with the most goals at a single World Cup.
#5 Guillermo Stabile – 8 World Cup goals
Guillermo Stabile is one of Argentina's finest players of all time. He is the first Argentinian to win the Golden Boot at a World Cup tournament with eight goals in four matches.
He also doubles as the first player to win the World Cup Golden boot. The goals were spread across four national teams, namely Mexico, Chile, USA and Uruguay.
Stabile scored a hat-trick against Mexico in the group stage in a 6-3 win, two braces in victorious matches against Chile and USA in the group stage and semi-final respectively and a goal in the 4-2 loss against Uruguay in the finals.
Brazil's Ademir and Ronaldo almost replicated Stabile's feat but it took them six to seven matches respectively compared to the latter's four.
#4 Eusebio – 9 World Cup goals
Before Cristiano Ronaldo, there was Eusebio, who despite his demise in 2014 is still an idolized figure in Portugal and the world at large. He was the highest goal scorer at the 1966 World Cup where he singlehandedly led his team to a bronze in the tournament, their best outing till date.
Nickmamed the Black Panther, his major highlight in the World Cup outing was the four goals he scored against North Korea in the quarter-finals in a thrilling 5-3 match. This came after he scored a goal and a brace against Bulgaria and Brazil respectively.
Eusebio scored the only goal in a 2-1 defeat against England in the semis which automatically bumped them to a third-place play-off where he scored the opening goal of a 2-1 victory over the Soviet Union.
#3 Gerd Muller – 10 World Cup goals
Gerd Muller's 10 goals at the 1970 edition put him in third spot. His performance earned West Germany a bronze medal in the third-place play-off. He scored in every stage of the tournament except the third-place play-offs.
Nicknamed the nation's Bomber, he opened his campaign with a goal against Morocco and followed it up with back-to-back hat-tricks against Bulgaria and Peru, all in the group stage.
Muller scored the winning goal after extra time against England in the quarterfinals only for his side to get flogged by Italy in the semi-final after their equalizer got canceled in a 4-3 loss which took them to the play-offs, which they eventually won.
The West German returned four years later to deliver the title to his country in front of a home crowd, scoring four goals in the process which took him to a total tally of 14 World Cup goals. He is currently third on the list behind Ronaldo and compatriot Miroslav Klose.
Muller died at the age of 75 in August 2021.
#2 Sandor Kocsis – 11 World Cup goals
Sandor Kocsis is a key member of one of the golden teams of all time called the Mighty Magyars who were dominant in the fifties. His formidable form at the 1954 tournament was one for the ages as he scored 11 goals to help his side pick up the runners-up medal.
Kocsis kicked off with a hat-trick in a 9-0 thrashing against South Korea. He followed it up with four goals in the next match against Germany in a 8-3 showdown.
The Hungarian netted two braces in the quarter-finals and semi-finals against Brazil and Uruguay, which landed them in the finals on which they eventually lost, their only loss in the tournament.
He died at the age of 49 in July 1979.
#1 Just Fontaine – 13 World Cup goals
Just Fontaine's record of 13 goals at a single World Cup remains untouched till date. The shocking part of this feat is that he scored those goals in just six matches. He scored in every match he appeared at in the 1958 edition.
Fontaine scored a hat-trick in his opening match against Paraguay in a 7-3 victory. Then a brace against Yugoslavia in a 3-2 defeat, a goal and another brace in triumphant matches against Scotland and Northern Ireland. Fontaine's one goal against Brazil in the semis was not enough as his side faced defeat in a 5-2 loss.
He made sure his team did not leave the tournament as he scored four goals in the third-place play-off against Germany, resulting in a 6-3 win.
