Who Are the Golden Boot Winners in FIFA World Cup History?

The Golden Boot award is presented to the player who scores the most goals in the FIFA World Cup. This accolade has been awarded since 1982. In the 2022 World Cup, Kylian Mbappé won the Golden Boot by scoring 8 goals, a feat no player has repeated since. As the FIFA World Cup 2026 approaches, interest is growing about which team will claim the trophy and which player will score the most goals.

The Golden Boot is awarded to the highest goal scorer in the World Cup. If multiple players score the same number of goals, the award goes to the one who has played fewer minutes. The runner-up receives the Silver Ball, while the third-place finisher is awarded the Bronze Ball. Although the FIFA World Cup began in 1930, the Golden Boot award was first introduced during the 12th edition hosted by Spain in 1982.

The inaugural Golden Boot winner in 1982 was Paolo Rossi of Italy, who scored 6 goals. Since then, the award has been given to the top scorer of each tournament. The award has been known as the Adidas Golden Shoe since its inception in 1982. In the most recent tournament held in Qatar in 2022, French forward Kylian Mbappé secured the Golden Boot by netting 8 goals. The upcoming World Cup will take place from June 11, 2026, across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, with the Golden Boot winner to be announced on July 19.

Golden Boot Winners:
1982 Paolo Rossi (Italy) – 6 goals
1986 Gary Lineker (England) – 6 goals
1990 Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) – 6 goals
1994 Oleg Salenko (Russia) – 6 goals
1998 Davor Šuker (Croatia) and Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria) – 6 goals
2002 Ronaldo (Brazil) – 8 goals
2006 Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 5 goals
2010 Thomas Müller (Germany) – 5 goals
2014 James Rodríguez (Colombia) – 6 goals
2018 Harry Kane (England) – 6 goals

Top Scorers from Other World Cup Editions:
1930 Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) – 8 goals
1934 Oldřich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia) – 5 goals
1938 Leônidas (Brazil) – 7 goals
1950 Ademir (Brazil) – 8 goals
1954 Sándor Kócsis (Hungary) – 11 goals
1958 Just Fontaine (France) – 13 goals
1962 Florian Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (Russia), Garrincha and Vavá (Brazil), Dražan Jerković (Yugoslavia), Leonel Sánchez (Chile) – 4 goals each
1966 Eusébio (Portugal) – 9 goals
1970 Gerd Müller (West Germany) – 10 goals
1974 Grzegorz Lato (Poland) – 7 goals
1978 Mario Kempes (Argentina) – 6 goals