The 2026 World Cup is finally here, and with the tournament expanding to 48 teams and a record number of matches, fans can expect a glut of goals over the coming five weeks.
Five players set to compete at World Cup 2026 already rank among the top 10 most prolific international goalscorers in football history, each of whom will be licking their lips at the prospect of enhancing their respective goal tallies this summer.
Here’s a look at those five players, plus the five others that make up the top 10.
READ: 10 player stats that could be broken at the World Cup
10 – Harry Kane (England), Neymar (Brazil), Godfrey Chitalu (Zambia): 79 Goals
A trio of players share 10th place on the all-time international goalscoring list with 79 goals, two of whom will feature at World Cup 2026.
Harry Kane recently propelled his tally to 79 goals in 113 appearances for England after finding the back of the net against New Zealand. Averaging 0.7 goals per game for his country, the Three Lions captain is undoubtedly one of the most prolific international – and club – strikers of his generation.
Fresh from another outstanding club season, Kane arrives at World Cup 2026 among the favourites for the Golden Boot and is aiming to become the first player to win the award twice. Already 5th among Europe’s all-time international scorers, Kane sits just five goals behind Ferenc Puskas (9th) in the all-time charts, meaning he could climb further up the rankings before the tournament concludes.
READ: Ballon d’Or 2026 odds – Harry Kane favourite heading into World Cup 2026
Sitting alongside Kane on 79 goals (in 128 games) is Neymar, who after feverish speculation, was called up to the Brazil squad by Carlo Ancelotti. The 34-year-old has been plagued by injuries in recent years but his experience, nous, and supreme talent could well come in handy during the tournament, as will his impressive knack for scoring goals.
To be the top Brazilian scorer of all time is an incredible feat considering the plethora of elite players that have sported the famous yellow shirt, including Pele, who Neymar surpassed in 2023.
The third player tied on 79 goals is Zambia legend Godfrey Chitalu. Between 1968 and 1980, he scored his goals in just 111 international appearances, making him Africa’s highest-scoring men’s international footballer. Chitalu’s goalscoring exploits extended beyond the international stage too, with the striker reportedly scoring an astonishing 100 goals in all competitions during 1972.
9 – Ferenc Puskas (Hungary & Spain): 84 Goals
9th on the all-time international scoring charts is one of football’s true icons: Ferenc Puskas. The legendary player represented both Hungary and Spain during his career, although every one of his 84 international goals came in Hungarian colours.
Puskas’ record is nothing short of extraordinary. He scored 84 goals in just 89 appearances, giving him a remarkable strike rate of 0.94 goals per game, which is comfortably the highest among the top 10 international goalscorers in history. To put that into perspective, he found the net almost every time he stepped onto the pitch for his country.
A key figure in Hungary’s famed “Golden Team” of the 1950s, Puskas scored four goals at the 1954 World Cup and played a starring role in one of the most famous matches in football history: Hungary’s 6-3 victory over England at Wembley in 1953, where he scored a brace.
Not satisfied with being an exceptional goalscorer, Puskas is fourth for all-time international assists (53) and top of the list for Europe.
8 – Ali Mabkhout (UAE): 85 Goals
Ali Mabkhout sits eighth on the all-time international goalscoring list with an impressive 85 goals in 115 appearances for the United Arab Emirates between 2009 and 2023, during which he won the Arabian Gulf Cup in 2013 and finished third at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
Now 35, he remains active at club level with Al-Nasr in the UAE Pro League, where he has continued to add to his honours collection with multiple domestic league titles and cup successes.
6 – Robert Lewandowski (Poland) & Mokhtar Dahari (Malaysia): 89 Goals
Sixth spot in this list is shared by two prolific forwards from very different eras: Robert Lewandowski (Poland) and Mokhtar Dahari (Malaysia), both on 89 international goals.
Lewandowski is widely regarded as one of the finest forwards of his generation, having scored at a rampant rate for both club and country over the last 20+ years. For Poland, he has netted 89 goals in 167 appearances since opening his international account on debut in 2009. However, he will sadly not feature at World Cup 2026 after Poland narrowly missed out following a play-off defeat to Sweden, leaving questions marks over his international career.
Mokhtar Dahari, affectionately known as “Supermokh”, also scored 89 goals for Malaysia in 142 appearances. A national icon, he held the record as the world’s all-time leading international goalscorer until it was surpassed in 2004. In his early days, Mabkhout even juggled life as a footballer with other jobs such as a bank clerk, and would commute to work on a motorcycle!
5 – Romelu Lukaku (Belgium): 90 Goals
Romelu Lukaku kicks-off the top 5 on the all-time international goalscoring list with an outstanding return of 90 goals in 126 appearances for Belgium, a tally he will look to increase at World Cup 2026.
This will be his seventh major international tournament and fourth consecutive World Cup. Lukaku played a key role in Belgium’s best-ever World Cup finish in 2018, finishing as joint Bronze Boot winner as the Red Devils finished fourth.
While Belgium are not considered among the outright favourites this time around, they have been handed a favourable Group G draw against Egypt, Iran and New Zealand, offering Lukaku ample opportunity to add to his ridiculous record, and edge closer to the coveted 100-goal landmark.
4 – Sunil Chhetri (India): 95 Goals
Sunil Chhetri is fourth on the list with a return of 95 goals in 157 games for India, which he amassed between 2005 and 2025. Unsurprisingly this is an Indian record for both goals and caps.
Sunil Chhetri’s glut of goals helped India win a multitude of trophies, including four SAFF Championships, three Nehru Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, the AFC Challenge Cup, and the Tri-Nation Series, plus a whole cabinet of individual honours.
Although he retired from international football in 2025, Chhetri continues to play at club level for Bengaluru FC, and remains the all-time top scorer in Indian Super League history.
3 – Ali Daei (Iran): 108 Goals
Into the top 3 we go with Ali Daei, who was in fact the first player to ever score 100 international goals – 108 in total – and held the top honour in the charts from 2004 until 2021 before the upcoming two GOATs came along and shattered all records before them.
Still, Daei can still claim to be the highest scoring Asian male player of all time at international level, with the aforementioned tally of 108 goals looking pretty safe for now.
The Iranian represented his country at two World Cups in 1998 and 2006, but was unable to get on the scoresheet in either.
2 – Lionel Messi (Argentina): 116 Goals
Lionel Messi has scored more international goals (116) than all but one player in history (more on that in a moment). Along the way, the Argentinian has won the World Cup, been awarded the Golden Ball award twice, and has scored 13 goals across five editions.
Messi, who is the highest scoring South American international player of all time, will set a new joint-record of playing in six World Cups this summer and has an ideal opportunity to beat Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup record of 16 goals, which he needs three to draw level with, and four to surpass.
Four years ago, Messi scored seven goals and the Silver Boot en route to winning the World Cup trophy, and with Argentina among the favourites once again, he will fancy his chances of adding further goals to his international tally in a favourable Group J alongside Algeria, Austria, and Jordan.
READ: World Cup 2026 most assists analysis – Crunching the numbers on Messi, Olise, Yamal & Fernandes
1 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal): 143 Goals
With the utmost of respect to the other players on this list, it’s not even close. Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way by a country mile with his tally of 143 goals in 227 games putting him a whopping 27 goals clear of rival Messi. Ronaldo has shown no signs of slowing down either, scoring eight times for his country in 2025 alone.
Ronaldo, alongside Messi, is set to feature in a joint-record sixth World Cup. Despite his extraordinary overall record, World Cup goals have been more modest by his staggering standards, with eight across five tournaments and no knockout-stage goals to date.
However, this could well change in 2026 with Portugal well-fancied to do well, as the 2024-25 Nations League champions attempt to create history by winning the World Cup trophy for the first time. Ronaldo will have an ideal chance to get off the mark early doors with Portugal coming up against DR Congo, Uzbekistan, and Colombia in Group K.
Read more:
