The 2026 World Cup has delivered goals at a breathtaking pace. With an expanded format spread across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, multiple hat-tricks have already been registered — and five players have reached four or more goals. That raises a compelling question: what is the actual record for goals scored by a single player at one World Cup?

The all-time list

Lionel Messi recently became the leading scorer in World Cup history, with 18 goals across five tournaments. He has scored five at the 2026 edition so far — but because those strikes are distributed across multiple tournaments, he does not feature here. This list is about single-tournament dominance.

Tied fifth — Guillermo Stabile, 8 goals, 1930

At the inaugural World Cup, Guillermo Stabile was the tournament's standout forward. After going scoreless in Argentina's opening match, he found the net in every subsequent game — including a consolation strike in the final as Argentina fell to hosts Uruguay. Nearly a century later, he still occupies a place on this list.

Tied fifth — Ronaldo Nazario, 8 goals, 2002

Ronaldo Nazario was the defining figure of the 2002 World Cup. He scored in every match except the quarter-final against England and delivered a decisive brace in the final to help Brazil claim a fifth world title — all while narrowly missing out on the player of the tournament award.

Tied fifth — Kylian Mbappe, 8 goals, 2022

Kylian Mbappe had already become the second teenager ever to score in a World Cup final in 2018. Four years later, a hat-trick in the 2022 final took him to eight goals for the tournament — the second player in history to score three in a final. At the 2026 World Cup, he has already reached four goals in just three appearances.

Tied fourth — Ademir, 9 goals, 1950

Ademir lit up a home tournament in Brazil alongside Zizinho and Jair. He scored in the first competitive match ever played at the Maracanã — against Mexico in the opening game — but finished on the losing side when the trophy stayed out of Brazilian hands. The 1950 edition was his only World Cup.

Tied fourth — Eusebio, 9 goals, 1966

Eusebio scored all nine of his World Cup goals at a single tournament, the 1966 edition staged in England, shooting him to global recognition. He remained Portugal's all-time World Cup top scorer for decades — a record Cristiano Ronaldo eventually surpassed with a brace against Uzbekistan, though Ronaldo's total has accumulated across six tournaments.

Third — Gerd Muller, 10 goals, 1970

Gerd Muller was the archetypal penalty-box predator. At the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, he bagged two hat-tricks on his way to 10 goals overall. His sharpness in front of goal was equally evident at club level — he scored 68 goals in 62 appearances for West Germany.

Second — Sandor Kocsis, 11 goals, 1954

Hungary's golden generation of the 1950s is often overlooked. The team went 32 matches unbeaten before that run was ended in the 1954 World Cup final by West Germany. Sandor Kocsis was central to that era, scoring 11 times in Switzerland — registering multiple goals in each game he scored, including four against eventual champions West Germany in the group stage.

First — Just Fontaine, 13 goals, 1958

The record belongs to Just Fontaine, and it has stood for more than six decades. Playing in what was only his third appearance for France, Fontaine scored 13 goals across a single 1958 World Cup campaign — a tally that included a hat-trick and a four-goal haul in the third-place play-off. He went on to make just 21 caps for Les Bleus in total, scoring 30 times. His tournament record remains untouched.