Golden Boot winners: Every World Cup top goal scorer from 1930-2022

Kylian Mbappé was the man for France, dragging them to the World Cup finals for a second straight time with 8 goals in 7 games. He left the best for last as he scored a clutch hattrick against Argentina to take the game to penalties, but alas he could not repeat his success from 2018, and the French went back home as runners-up.

The Tottenham legend was in fine form in Russia as he helped England to the semi-finals with six goals.

Kane was simply unstoppable in the group stages as he netted twice against Tunisia, before getting a hat-trick versus Panama.

He then scored another in the round-of-16 win over Colombia to cap off a fine tournament overall.

Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez claimed the Golden Boot after scoring six goals throughout the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, despite his side getting knocked out in the quarter-finals by the host nation.

Thomas Muller scored five goals for the German national team during the 2010 World Cup, assisting in his side finishing third in the tournament. During the 2014 World Cup, Muller also won the Silver Boot after netting five goals which contributed to Germany lifting the World Cup.

In his second World Cup, Miroslav Klose was able to claim the Golden Boot by scoring five goals, taking his team to the semi-finals and winning the third-place play-off. Four of his goals came in the group stage, with braces against Costa Rica and Ecuador.

Ronaldo top scored to win the Golden Boot and help his side claim their fifth title during the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

During the competition he was also runner-up for the Golden Ball award for best player at the tournament, and he dedicated his third FIFA Player of the Year award to the medical team that helped him recover from a knee injury to play in the finals.

Davor Suker led Croatia to third-place finish, their first since becoming an independent nation, during the 1998 World Cup in France. He scored six goals in seven games and claimed the Silver Ball as the World Cup's second-best player to Brazil's Ronaldo.

Two players scored six goals during the 1994 World Cup in the USA earning them a joint title of the Golden Boot. Hristo Stoichkov helped Bulgaria reach the semi-finals of the World Cup with his six goals, while Oleg Salenko set a World Cup record by scoring five goals in one game in Russia's 6–1 win against Cameroon and once versus Sweden. Salenko is the only player to have won the Golden Boot with a team eliminated from the World Cup finals at the group stage.

Italy forward Salvatore Schillaci, more commonly known as Toto, scored six goals during Italia '90. He helped the host nation reach a third-place finish as well as receiving the Golden Ball as player of the tournament.

At present, Gary Lineker is England's only Golden Boot winner, earning his title during the 1986 World Cup. He scored six goals in five games and scored the second-quickest hat-trick ever at a FIFA World Cup tournament against Poland.

Italy forward Paolo Rossi led his national side to the title during the 1982 World Cup in Spain. He scored six goals in winning the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball after being named the best player of the tournament. He is currently Italy's joint-top scorer in World Cup history, with nine goals in total.

Argentina forward Mario Kempes scored six goals during the 1978 World Cup, including two goals in the final against Netherlands. His two goals resulted in Argentina lifting the trophy, but were also his last at international level.

Winger Grzegorz Lato is the only Polish player to ever win the Golden Boot after scoring seven goals at the 1974 World Cup. During the competition, Poland earned a third-place finish in which Lato scored the only goal against Brazil.

Gerd Muller scored an incredible 10 goals for West Germany during the 1970 World Cup, although Brazil were crowned the champions. During his career he scored 68 goals in 62 games for West Germany and was the country's all-time leading scorer for almost 40 years until surpassed by Miroslav Klose in 2014.

Forward Eusebio scored nine goals for Portugal in the 1996 World Cup in England, taking his team to the semi-finals and earning third place. During the tournament, he set a record for the most penalties scored, penalty shoot-outs not included, with four goals.

World Cup 1962 saw six players jointly win the Golden Boot after scoring four goals each. Brazilian players Vava and Garrincha's goals helped lead their nation to World Cup victory, while Florian Albert, Valentin Ivanov, Drazan Jerkovic and Leonel Sanchez all netted four goals. In total, 89 goals were scored by 54 different players during the entire competition. 

France forward Just Fontaine scored an astonishing 13 goals during the 1958 World Cup, taking his nation to third place. He scored his remarkable tally in just six games, including netting four against defending champions West Germany. He still holds the title for the highest number of goals ever scored by one player at a single World Cup tournament.

Hungary's Sandor Kocsis netted 11 goals during the 1954 World Cup, including two hat-tricks. He was mostly known for scoring with his head, assisting in taking Hungary to the final that year, where they lost to West Germany.

Brazil centre-forward Ademir earned the Golden Boot after scoring eight goals during the 1950 World Cup. He helped host nation Brazil reach the final group stage before they finished runners-up after a surprise 2-1 loss to Uruguay.

Leonidas helped lead Brazil to the semi-finals of the 1938 World Cup, scoring seven goals. He won the Golden Boot, Golden Ball and was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team following the competition. 

Forward Oldrich Nejedly is considered one of Czechoslovakia's greatest players and won the Golden Boot in the 1934 World Cup. Nejedly scored 29 goals in 44 games at international level and he was also awarded the Bronze Ball in the 1934 World Cup as the third-best player of the tournament. 

Argentina's Guillermo Stabile scored eight goals during the first ever World Cup in 1930. He made his debut in the second game against Mexico, scoring a hat-trick. During the final, Stabile scored their second goal, however, he never played for Argentina again, meaning he only made four appearances for country.