From the first World Cupheld in Uruguay in 1930, 96 years ago, many footballers have left their mark as scorers in the main official international men’s soccer tournament between national teams, so that the trophy world champion is not the only one prize at stake for the participants.
The Golden Bootor Golden Boot, is the award given to the top scorer of each edition of the World Cup. However, although the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) retrospectively recognizes the top scorers of the first editions as winners of the award, this was awarded for the first time in 1982.
Due to errors In the records of the first ten tournaments, there are discrepancies about the figures of some players, especially about the number of goals scored in the editions of 1934, 1938 and 1950. However, to choose the winner, the goals scored and, in the event of a tie, the assists are taken into account in the first instance.
Additionally, in the 2006 The Boot of Silver and that of Bronze for the players who occupy second and third place in the scoring rankings. For this, the selection criterion is based, first of all, on the number of goals scored; secondly, in assists, and, finally, in whoever has played the fewest minutes.
Top scorers by tournament
- Uruguay 1930 – Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) with 8
- Italy 1934 – Oldřich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia) with 5
- France 1938 – Oldřich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia) with 5
- Brazil 1950 – Ademir (Brazil) with 9
- Switzerland 1954 – Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) with 11
- Sweden 1958 – Just Fontaine (France) with 13
Chile 1962
In the 1962 World Cup in Chile there was a four-goal tie between six players: Florian Albert, from Hungary; Dražan Jerković, from Yugoslavia; Valentin Ivanov, of the Soviet Union; Leonel Sánchez, from Chiliand Garrincha and Vavá, from Brazilwho were proclaimed champions with the greenyellow after beating Czechoslovakia in the final.
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- England 1966 – Eusebio (Portugal) with 9
- Mexico 1970 – Gerd Muller (Germany) with 10
- Germany 1974 – Grzegorz Lato (Poland) with 7
- Argentina 1978 – Mario Kempes (Argentina) with 6
- Spain 1982 – Paolo Rossi (Italy) with 6
- Mexico 1986 – Gary Lineker (England) with 6
- Italy 1990 – Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) with 6
- USA 1994 – Hristo Stoitchkov (Bulgaria) with 6
- France 1998 – Davor Suker (Crocia) with 6
- Korea & Japan 2002 – Ronaldo (Brazil) with 8
- Germany 2006 – Miroslav Klose (Germany) with 5
South Africa 2010
At the World Cup in South Africa 2010 There was a five-goal tie between four players: Thomas Müller, from Germany; Wesley Sneijder, from the Netherlands; Diego Forlán, from Uruguay, and David Villa, from Spain, who was one of the main figures of his team and was instrumental in the Spanish team’s first world title.
- Brazil 2014 – James Rodríguez (Colombia) with 6
- Russia 2018 – Harry Kane (England) with 6
- Qatar 2022 – Kylian Mbappé (France) with 8
Top scorers of the 2026 World Cup – Until June 17
- Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 3 goals
- Kylian Mbappé (France) – 2 goals
- Erling Haaland (Norway) – 2 goals
- Harry Kane (England) – 2 goals
- Kai Havertz (Germany) – 2 goals
- Folarin Balogun (USA) – 2 goals
- Yasin Ayari (Sweden) – 2 goals
- Elijah Just (New Zealand) – 2 goals
The owner of the game 🔟👑🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/yfdcOZhdiB
— 🇦🇷 Argentina National Team ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) June 17, 2026