It is easy to look back at the FIFA World Cup history and assume that the good teams have always been good, the great teams have always been great, and very little has changed. Yet, despite this, there are some surprises when it comes to teams scoring the most goals in World Cup.
Germany And Brazil Are Leagues Ahead
Leading into the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the team with the most FIFA World Cup goals is Germany, followed by Brazil. They are just three goals apart, with 229 and 226 goals respectively, but they are a good way ahead of Argentina, who have notched 137 World Cup goals.
This shows Germany and Brazil’s dominance in the FIFA World Cup tournaments, and it is pretty staggering. There is also a small gap between Argentina and Italy in 3rd and 4th and France in 5th, but it is nothing like the one between 2nd and 3rd.
Some Teams Are Higher Than You Expect
Hungary is 8th on the overall list of World Cup goalscorers, despite missing 8 FIFA World Cups between 1990 and 2018 and not making it beyond the first round between 1970 and 1986. This is all thanks to the golden age of Hungarian soccer, as they scored 27 goals in 1954 and 15 in 1938, finishing as the runners-up on both occasions.
They scored more goals in the 1954 World Cup than they did in the next four World Cups they appeared in. Uruguay is also higher than many might expect, ranking equal 8th on the all-time goalscorer list.
While they have not been in a single FIFA World Cup final since 1950, they did win in 1930 and 1950. In the modern era, they have had top goalscorers like Deigo Forlan, Luis Suarez, and Edinson Cavani in the three previous FIFA World Cups tournaments helping them to increase that goals total.
Live TV & On Demand Soccer Streaming
- Watch Premier League And Euro Leagues
- On Any Device. Anytime. Anywhere
- Stream Live, Rewind Or Replay
- No Contracts, No Long Term Commitments
Some Teams Are Lower Than You Expect
The 2018 runners-up, Croatia, has been involved in some fantastic FIFA World Cup moments over the years, but they are a relatively newly formed country and have only played in five World Cup finals. Nevertheless, they scored 35 goals in that time That is more than Scotland, who has played in eight FIFA World Cup finals.
Other teams that are low on the list include South Korea, who are ranked 26th, despite playing in 10 World Cups, and Greece, who barely make it into the top 50, despite being a team once considered the best in Europe following their 2004 European Championship victory.
Some Surprising Comparisons
If none of those above goalscoring stats surprised you, don’t worry, because we’re just getting warmed up:
Hungary scored more goals in the 1954 World Cup than Bulgaria scored in 7 World Cups, and as many as Japan and Costa Rica have achieved throughout their FIFA World Cup history.
Portugal may be the European champions in 2016, and they may have one of the world’s best goal scorers on their team (Cristiano Ronaldo). Still, they have scored half the amount of goals as Italy and Argentina, and fewer goals than Serbia, Russia, and Mexico.
The United States has a goals scored ratio of just 3.70 per World Cup (37 goals in 10 World Cup appearances) compared to Brazil’s 10.76 goals per World Cup tournament and Germany at 12.05 goals per tournament.
Multiple countries have played in a FIFA World Cup without recording a single goal, including Canada, China, and Indonesia. No teams have played in more than one World Cup without scoring a single goal.
Most Goals Scored In A World Cup Game By One Team
Following an 8-3 victory over West Germany in the group stage, Hungary lost 3-2 to the same team in the World Cup final in 1954. They also defeated South Korea 9-0, setting a tournament record for most goals conceded (16) in a single game. Hungary also set a tournament record for the highest goal difference (+17).
They scored a total of 27 goals in only five games during one FIFA World Cup tournament.
In 1930, Uruguay scored 15 goals in 4 matches to claim the first World Cup trophy. They only conceded three goals for a goal difference of +12 in a single tournament.
Live TV & On Demand Soccer Streaming
- Watch Premier League And Euro Leagues
- On Any Device. Anytime. Anywhere
- Stream Live, Rewind Or Replay
- No Contracts, No Long Term Commitments
Most Goals In A Single World Cup
A total of 140 goals were scored in 26 games during the 1954 tournament (5.36 goals per game). A total of 63 players scored 140 goals, including four own goals. The tournament’s top goal scorer was Sandor Kocsis, who scored 11 goals.
A total of eight goals were scored by Argentina’s Guillermo Stabile during the first World Cup back in 1930. Just Fontaine of France holds the individual record with 13 goals in only six games at a single FIFA World Cup tournament.
Miroslav Klose has scored more goals than anyone else. Among the four consecutive tournaments he has taken part in, Miroslav Klose scored 16 times in 24 appearances. The ratio of his number of goals to games is 0.67. Sandor Kocsis’s number of goals-per-game ratio was 2.20 and Just Fontaine is close behind with 2.17.
No one goal scorer has ever won the Golden Boot award twice.
Which Teams Have Scored The Most World Cup Goals?
If you’re still hungry for more statistics, check out the top 20 teams below, ranked from highest to lowest.
Countries Who Have Scored The Most World Cup Goals
| Country | Goals Scored | Tournaments | Ratio (average goals per tournament) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany (West Germany) | 229 | 19 | 12.05 |
| Brazil | 226 | 21 | 10.76 |
| Argentina | 137 | 17 | 8.05 |
| Italy | 127 | 18 | 7.05 |
| France | 120 | 15 | 8 |
| England | 91 | 15 | 6.06 |
| Spain | 90 | 15 | 6 |
| Hungary | 87 | 9 | 9.66 |
| Uruguay | 87 | 13 | 6.69 |
| The Netherlands | 86 | 10 | 8.60 |
| Sweden | 80 | 12 | 6.66 |
| Russia (USSR) | 77 | 11 | 7.00 |
| Belgium | 68 | 13 | 5.23 |
| Serbia (Yugoslavia) | 64 | 11 | 5.81 |
| Mexico | 60 | 16 | 3.75 |
| Switzerland | 50 | 11 | 4.54 |
| Portugal | 49 | 7 | 7.00 |
| Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia) | 47 | 9 | 5.22 |
| Poland | 46 | 8 | 5.75 |
| Austria | 43 | 7 | 6.14 |
