Overview
- The Sporting News published nation-by-nation tables, with figures correct to June 10, 2026, listing each of the 48 teams' all-time top scorers and their caps as a pre-tournament reference.
- Miroslav Klose remains the World Cup's all-time top scorer with 16 goals, a mark the tables confirm as the tournament baseline.
- Lionel Messi has 13 World Cup goals across five tournaments while Cristiano Ronaldo, the all-time leading international scorer with 143 goals, has just eight World Cup goals.
- Kylian Mbappé sits one goal behind Olivier Giroud on France's all-time scoring list and has 12 World Cup goals, level with Pelé on the all-time World Cup chart.
- The expanded 48-team format and the presence of many active national record holders mean more legacy marks are vulnerable and fans should watch both national top-scorer lists and World Cup-only tallies for changes during the tournament.