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German Miroslav Klose (2014) and Brazilian Ronaldo (2006) both broke the record for most goals in World Cup history in the 21st century. Before the two World Cup-winning strikers, German Gerd Müller had the record with 14 goals.
The FIFA World Cup provided many players who have scored a ton of goals during their participation in the tournament. More than 1200 players scored at least a goal during World Cup action, with thirteen of those accounting for at least ten goals in the competition.
Of course, Ronaldo broke Müller's record in Germany 2006 versus Ghana, and then Klose applied the same medicine to Ronaldo in Brazil four years ago and during Germany's 7-1 dismantling victory over the Canarinha. But who are the other players integrating the World Cup goalscoring Olympus?
It is time to refresh some memories after three days of action in Russia. Let's take a look into the top 5 scorers throughout the history of the most prominent tournament in international football.
#1 Miroslav Klose / 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014
Miroslav Klose, the all-time top goalscorer in the World Cup with 16 goals in 24 matches, made his first start for Germany during the main event against Saudi Arabia in the first matchday of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Germany and Klose got off to a red-hot start with an 8-0 victory over Saudi Arabia; the prolific striker scored an all-header hat-trick, including Germany's first two goals in the championship.
Klose's run in 2002 continued in the second matchday when he scored another header to give Germany an early lead against the Republic of Ireland. The game ended in a 1-1 tie. Klose scored another header in the last matchday of the group stage versus Cameroon, but could not score any other goal in Germany's second-place effort.
In Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010, Germany was once again favorites to contend for the title, and Klose was a starter for both squads. In 2006, Klose added five more goals to his World Cup tally and earned himself the tournament's Golden Boot. In the quarterfinals versus Argentina, the German scored his first non-group stage goal in the competition, but Germany had to settle for third place.
In South Africa 2010 he had another good run with his national team, scoring three goals in the competition. He opened the scoring in the controversial round-of-sixteen clash with England and added a couple more in a 4-0 over Argentina in the quarterfinals. Again, Germany's effort was good only for a third spot.
Heading into Brazil 2014, the 36-year-old Klose announced he was playing in his last World Cup. Although he did not begin the tournament as a starter in Joachim Low's squad, Klose earned his spot with an equalizing goal versus Ghana in the group stage, that goal equaled both the match against the African side and Ronaldo's World Cup tally.
In the semifinals versus Brazil, Klose met his appointment with history. On route to Germany's 7-1 win over Brazil, he scored the second goal and his historic sixteenth in the competition. The game took place at Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Germany went on to win the tournament days later with a 1-0 victory over Argentina. Klose was a starter in the deciding match and was replaced by Mario Gotze, who scored the championship-winning goal in extra time.
#2 Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima / 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006
Brazilian Ronaldo, the nation's second highest goalscorer behind Pelé, was a member of a World Cup squad four times but played in three tournaments. The fantastic striker was able to score in the three competitions he played in and won a championship with Brazil in 2002 while scoring a World Cup-leading eight goals.
Ronaldo was fantastic for Brazil during their runner-up effort in France in 1998. However, he could not play a significant role in the final versus France after many circumstances surrounded him in the hours prior to the game.
In 2002, after his horror knee injuries, he was called up to Luiz Felipe Scolari's team to play the tournament. Ronaldo scored goals in six of Brazil's seven matches, including a goal against Turkey in the semifinals and a brace versus Germany and Oliver Kahn in the deciding game.
His eight goals in 2002 equaled Brazil's record for most goals by a player in a single World Cup, after Ademir in 1950. In addition to that feat, Ronaldo matched Pelé's goal tally for most by a player in World Cup history with 12 (Ronaldo scored four in 1998).
Germany 2006 wasn't Ronaldo's best World Cup, mainly because of his physical form. However, the Brazilian scored a brace against Japan to tie Gerd Müller's 14 goals in the World Cup, and then, scored the then-record fifteenth goal in the round-of-sixteen versus Ghana. Ronaldo's last game for Brazil in a World Cup was the 1-0 defeat against France in the quarterfinals.
Ronaldo played 19 World Cup matches and scored a goal in eleven (four braces).
#3 Gerd Müller / 1970 and 1974
Müller played two World Cups for Germany, and both times was able to have a podium place; third in 1970 and champions in 1974 at home. Müller, an explosive goalscorer in his day, put up 14 goals in thirteen World Cup games for Germany.
His fourteenth goal in the tournament was in the 1974 World Cup final against the Netherlands, which gave the German National Team its second World Cup championship in history.
Müller's ten-goal tally in México 1970 ranks third for most goals in a single tournament in World Cup history behind Just Fontaine (13) in 1958 and Sándor Kocsis (11) in 1954.
Among the top 5 goalscorers in World Cup history, Müller has the second highest goal-per-game ratio with 1.08.
#4 Just Fontaine / 1958
France's Just Fontaine is one of two players who played in just one World Cup and scored at least 11 goals, along with Hungarian Sándor Kocsis.
Fontaine was the best player for France in their third-place finish in the 1958 World Cup, a stage where he established the record for most goals in a single tournament with 13 goals (in six games), which were his final stats in the World Cup.
Fontaine holds the best goals-per-game ratio among the players in this list with 2.17. His goal ratio ranks second in World Cup history, behind Kocsis' 2.20 (11 goals in 5 games).
The French striker held the record for most goals in the tournament from June 28, 1958, to July 3, 1974, when Gerd Müller took his place.
#5 Edson Arantes do Nascimento / 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970
Pelé's 12 goals in the World Cup rank fifth in history. The Brazilian, the ultimate winner with three World Cup titles, is one of four players to score in four different World Cups, along with Germans Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose, and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo.
Pelé has the highest goal-tally in Brazil's international history with 77 goals in 92 games.
To go along with his three World Cup championships, the most ever by a single player, Pelé participated directly in 21 goals for Brazil, thanks to his 12 goals and the nine assists he provided to his teammates.
In his 14 World Cup matches, Pelé scored goals in eight. His stats include one hat-trick and a couple of braces. His 12 goals dissect in the following way: five in the group stage, one in the quarterfinals, three in the semifinals, and three in finals.
