New Delhi: Germany scripted history Sunday after thrashing World Cup debutants Curacao 7-1, becoming the team with the most goals in men’s FIFA World Cup history. Germany were lethal in front of goal, with Julian Nagelsmann’s side opening their tally at just six minutes. The match was briefly tied before the Germans ruthlessly put seven past the Curacao goalkeeper.
With 239 goals, Germany has now overtaken Brazil, which stands at 238. Brazil had drawn 1-1 against Morocco in their first game of this year’s World Cup.
While Germany missed out on the 1950 edition, Die Mannschaft have been a constant member of every other World Cup. The 1954 edition was their most prolific ever, where they scored 25 goals en route to the trophy.
Of the 239 goals, Miroslav Klose has scored the most with 16. He is also the all-time highest individual goal-scorer in men’s World Cup history. He is followed by Gerd Muller (14), Jurgen Klinsmann (11), and Helmut Rahn and Thomas Muller, who have 10 each.
The all-time top 5 highest-scoring nations in World Cup history are as follows.
Brazil
Sitting right below Germany, Brazil has scored 238 goals in the FIFA World Cup. The showpiece event has seen sterling contributions from Ronaldo (15), Pelé (12), Ademir, Vava, and Jairzinho (9 each).
Brazil, which has featured in all the editions of the FIFA World Cup and lifted the coveted trophy five times, also has every chance to better Germany’s tally before the tournament concludes.
Argentina
In third place sits defending champion Argentina with 152 goals. La Albiceleste have participated in 19 out of the 23 men’s World Cups held thus far.
Lionel Messi leads Argentina’s tally with 13 goals. He is followed by Gabriel Batistuta with 10, Guillermo Stabile with eight, and the legendary Diego Maradona, who also has eight to his name.
Argentina is scheduled for a faceoff with Algeria on 17 June.
Also read: No one has defeated the Netherlands in under 90 minutes. In Japan draw, the record remains
France
France has secured the fourth position with 136 goals at the FIFA World Cup. Qualifying 17 times since 1930, the team has won the title twice.
Just Fontaine holds the record for the most goals scored for France in World Cup history, with 13 strikes. Incredibly, all of them came in Sweden’s edition in 1958. His tally for most goals scored by a player in a single edition of the tournament remains unbroken even today. He is closely followed by Kylian Mbappe (12), Thierry Henry (6) and Zinedine Zidane (5).
Italy
With 128 goals, Italy completes the list of the top five national teams that have scored the most goals at the FIFA World Cup.
Italy has been one of the most successful teams at the event, bagging the trophy four times. However, they have failed to qualify for three editions in a row—2018, 2022, and 2026. They have featured in the tournament 18 times.
Christian Vieri, Paolo Rossi, and Roberto Baggio hold the record number of goals for Italy with nine each under their name.
Akshat Mohan is a TPSJ alum. He is currently interning with ThePrint.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)