The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals. The FIFA World Cup is the largest international team sport competition in the world with a qualification process required to reduce the large field of countries from 211 to just 32 for the World Cup finals until the 2022 edition.

Qualifying tournaments are held within the six FIFA continental zones (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania, Europe), and are organized by their respective confederations. For each tournament, FIFA decides beforehand the number of places in the finals allocated to each of the continental zones, based on the numbers or relative strength of the confederations' teams.

The hosts of the World Cup receive an automatic berth. Unlike many other sports, results of the previous World Cups or of the continental championships are not taken into account. Until 2002, the defending champions also received an automatic berth, but starting from the 2006 World Cup this is no longer the case.

The most recent qualification process was the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification which commenced in 2015 and finished in 2017.

Current format

Currently, 32 places are available in the final tournament until 2022. One of them is reserved for the host nation, but if two or more nations co-host the competition, each is awarded a place.

From 1934 to 2002, one berth was reserved for the winners of the previous World Cup, but in November 2001, FIFA announced that the defending champion would no longer get automatic entry to the subsequent tournament, starting with the 2006 finals. This decision was made to address the issue of the returning champions being at a disadvantage to their fellow competitors due to having not played a competitive match in the previous two years.^[3]

The problem was amply demonstrated at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, as returning champions France tumbled out in the first round, finishing bottom of their group without scoring a single goal. 2002 winner Brazil qualified for 2006 at the top of their qualifiers group, but Italy, defending champions from 2006, finished bottom of their group in 2010, despite playing in the qualifying matches. At Brazil 2014, 2010 champions Spain finished third in their group and failed to advance to the Round of 16, despite having qualified as first in their group.

FIFA decides beforehand the number of spots awarded to each of the continental zones. For the 2018 World Cup, the following numbers were used:^[4]

• UEFA (Europe) – 13 berths, plus the host Russia
• CAF (Africa) – 5 berths
• AFC (Asia) – 4 berths
• CONMEBOL (South America) – 4 berths
• CONCACAF (North and Central America and Caribbean) – 3 berths
• 2 berths for the winners of intercontinental play-offs between the best team from the OFC (Oceania), as well as additional teams from the AFC, CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. The pairings for these play-offs were determined by an open draw.

The number of berths allocated per continent is widely debated, with the main point of contention being the extent to which berths should be allocated to regions based on sheer population vs. talent. A historically weaker continent, Africa has called for more places, as they are allocated only five in comparison to Europe's 13.^[5]

In early October 2016, it was announced that the World Cup would have featured 40 teams starting with the 2026 tournament,^[6] then FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated his support for a 48-team World Cup,^[7] mainly to address African concerns. On 10 January 2017, the FIFA Council voted unanimously to expand the World Cup to a 48 team tournament that will open with a group stage consisting of 16 groups of three teams, with two teams progressing from each group to a knockout tournament starting with a round of 32.^[8] The new format for the qualifying process has yet to be confirmed, other than a play-off tournament that consists of one team from each confederation (except UEFA) and one additional team from the confederation of the host country for the last two World Cup berths.^[9]

These numbers vary slightly between tournaments (see above).

Qualification in all zones ends at approximately the same time, in September–November of the year preceding the finals.

The formats of the qualification tournaments differ between confederations and over time. The systems used in 2018 are outlined below.

Africa

The CAF qualification process began with two preliminary rounds to narrow the field of 53 entrants to 20 teams in October 2015 (Zimbabwe were disqualified).

The group stage consisted of 5 groups of 4, with the group winners advancing to the World Cup finals.

Asia

Bhutan and Guam entered the AFC qualification process, while Indonesia were disqualified after being suspended for political interference.

Qualifying was altered significantly from the 2014 method, with changes to the structure of the preliminary rounds – which were held before the main draw. One home-and-away preliminary round reduced the 12 entrants to 6, followed by a first group stage with the 6 first round winners joining the top sides and 4 best runners-up from 5 groups of 5 advancing to a final group stage. The winners and runners-up of the two final groups of 5 advanced to the World Cup finals with the two third-placed sides playing off in the fourth round for the right to play in an inter-confederation play-off for a final World Cup spot. The first two rounds also acted as the qualifiers for the expanded 2019 AFC Asian Cup.^[10]

A total of 24 teams eliminated from World Cup qualification in the second round competed in the third round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification (which was separate from the third round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification), where they were divided into six groups of four teams and competed for the remaining slots of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The 24 teams consisted of the 16 highest ranked teams eliminated in the second round, and the eight teams that advanced from the play-off round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification which were contested by the remaining 12 teams eliminated in the second round.^[11]

Europe

The European qualification was unchanged from the 2010 system. The 54 national teams were divided into nine groups of six teams, with the group winners qualifying directly to the finals, and the best eight runners-up playing home-and-away ties for the remaining four places.^[12]

With the admission of Gibraltar and Kosovo as FIFA members in May 2016, both national teams made their debuts in World Cup qualifying.^[13] With two groups of only five teams in the first round, Kosovo was assigned to group I as it was decided that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia should not play against Kosovo for security reasons, and Gibraltar was then added to group H.^[14][15]

North and Central America and Caribbean

The 2018 CONCACAF qualification process changed significantly from the 2014 qualification cycle. The first three rounds had teams play home-and-away over two legs. A first preliminary round involved the 14 lowest ranked teams and the seven winners advanced to the second round. The 13 higher ranked sides received byes in the second round and were joined by the seven first round winners; the ten winners advanced to the third round. Two higher ranked teams received byes in the third round and were joined by ten second round winners; the six winners advanced to the preliminary group stage.

As in 2014, the remaining 12 teams played in 3 semifinal groups of 4 teams with the top two in each group advancing to a final six-team group.

The final round – often referred to as the "hexagonal" because there are six teams involved – saw the top three teams advance to the World Cup finals, while the fourth placed side entered an inter-confederation play-off for a final World Cup spot.

Oceania

Qualification in Oceania was held as part of a further competition. The first stage took place with one group of four lowest ranked teams and the winner advanced to the second stage (which also acted as the 2016 OFC Nations Cup). In the second stage the top three teams advanced to the third round, among them Nations Cup champions New Zealand. Two groups of three teams contested the third round, or final group stage, and the winners of each group entered a two-leg final. The winners of this final advanced to an inter-confederation play-off for a World Cup spot.

South America

As in recent qualification series CONMEBOL qualification consisted of a single group of all entrants. Unlike previous qualifying tournaments where the fixtures were pre-determined, the fixtures were determined by a draw, which was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw, on 25 July 2015.^[16]

The top 4 teams from the 10-team group advanced to the World Cup finals, while the fifth placed team entered an inter-confederation play-off for a World Cup spot.

Intercontinental play-offs

Like the previous 2014 tournament, the pairings for the two play-offs were determined by an open draw on 25 July 2015, as part of the aforementioned preliminary draw. Intercontinental play-offs are played as home-and-away ties.

Qualification tournament rules

Qualification tournaments generally consist of a number of stages, made up of groups or knock-out ties.

Groups

In all group tournaments, three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. FIFA has set the order of the tie-breakers for teams that finish level on points:

1. goal difference in all group matches
2. greater number of goals scored in all group matches

Where teams are still not able to be separated, the following tie-breakers are used:

1. greater number of points obtained in matches between the tied teams
2. goal difference in matches between the tied teams
3. greater number of goals scored in matches between the tied teams

Where teams are still equal, then a play-off on neutral ground, with extra time and penalties if necessary will be played if FIFA deems such a play-off able to be fitted within the coordinated international match calendar. If this is not deemed feasible, then the result will be determined by the drawing of lot.

Note that this order of tie-breaker application has not always been applied. While it was used in the 2010 qualifiers, the qualification for the 2006 World Cup used the head-to-head comparison prior to goal difference (although this system was – where applicable – used in the 2006 finals themselves). If these rules had applied in 2006, then Nigeria would have qualified rather than Angola.

Home-and-away ties

Most knock-out qualifiers (such as the inter-confederation play-offs, the second round of UEFA qualifying and many preliminary ties) are played over two legs. The team that scores a greater aggregate number of goals qualifies. Away goals rule applies. If these rules fail to determine the winner, extra time and penalty shootouts are used.

Occasionally – usually when one entrant lacks adequate facilities to host international matches – ties are played over a single leg, in which case matches level after 90 minutes will go to extra time and then to a penalty shootout if required.

Alternatively, "home" matches can be played in neutral countries, or occasionally one team will host both matches. In the latter case the visiting team will still be considered as the "home" team for one of the legs – which may determine which side advances under the away goals rule, as occurred in CONCACAF qualification in 2010.

History

Over many years, the World Cup's qualification has evolved, from having no qualification at all in 1930, when the tournament was invitational and only 13 teams entered, to the current two-year process. The first World Cup qualifying match was played on 11 June 1933 when Sweden defeated Estonia 6–2 in Stockholm. The first ever goal in a World Cup qualifying match was scored 7 minutes into the game: it was scored according to some sources by Swedish captain Knut Kroon, or according to other sources by Estonian goalkeeper Evald Tipner (own goal).

While the number of teams which qualified for the finals has increased steadily, from 16 between 1934 and 1978, to 24 between 1982 and 1994, and finally to 32 starting from 1998, the qualification format has been basically the same throughout the history of the World Cup. The teams have been grouped continentally, and they competed for a fixed number of places, with one or two places awarded to the winners of intercontinental play-offs.

Qualification spots by continent

The table below lists the numbers of spots allocated by FIFA for each continent in each tournament. If no places were allocated to a continent as per the case of Oceania prior to 1966 and Africa in 1938-1954 and 1966, this does not indicate an exclusion of those continents by FIFA, but rather that no country from those continents made an entry to the aforementioned Cups.

It should be noted that a large part of Africa was under European colonial rule for the majority of the 20th century. Consequently, only three African countries were affiliated to FIFA in 1954: Egypt (since 1923), Sudan (since 1948) and Ethiopia (since 1952). Egypt entered the 1934, 1938 and 1954 Cups, but not the 1930 or 1950 Cups, while Sudan and Ethiopia did not enter the Cup until 1958. Though an African country, Egypt entered in 1938 and 1954 in the European group, and therefore the table below gives no data about Africa for these two Cups.

Places in the intercontinental play-offs count as 0.5 spots, and numbers in bold represent the winners of the intercontinental play-offs. "+C" denotes an additional spot for defending champions (1938-2002), and "+H" denotes an additional spot for host nations (from 1938).

Qualification competition entrants over time

• ¹ Because the Oceania Football Confederation has used the World Cup Qualifiers as a phase of (or as the entire) OFC Nations Cup, there is the possibility that non-FIFA countries may play in matches that double as World Cup qualifiers. In the 2006 qualifiers, New Caledonia were included in the tournament although they were not FIFA members at the date of close of entries. They are, however, included in the 12 nations listed as they joined FIFA during the course of qualification, even though they had been technically eliminated from contention a few days earlier (a similar situation occurred in the entries for 2010, with Montenegro's entry accepted prior to their admission by FIFA). By contrast, Tuvalu competed in the 2007 South Pacific Games football tournament, which doubled as qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. As they were not FIFA members at the time of the completion of the competition, they are not included in the 11 OFC entrants, although their results counted towards the qualification of other teams.
• ² From 1973 to 1989, the CONCACAF Championship and its qualifying tournament determined CONCACAF's entrant in the World Cup. The confederation's champion qualified outright.
• ³ "Teams played" is the total number of teams that played at least one qualifying match.
• ⁴ This number includes Tuvalu (see note 1) and South Africa. Although South Africa qualified automatically for 2010 as hosts, they competed in the CAF qualifiers, becoming the first hosts to compete in World Cup qualifying since 1934. This is because the Confederation of African Football used its 2010 World Cup qualifiers as the qualifying phase for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament for which South Africa had attempted to qualify.

First appearance in qualification by team

Note: Only teams that played at least one match are considered for the purposes of first appearance. Teams that withdrew prior to the qualification, or that qualified to the World Cup by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals, are not considered. Teams that succeeded in their first qualification are in bold. Teams that have never taken part in a World Cup are in italic.

World Cup	Europe	South America	North, Central America and Caribbean	Asia	Africa	Oceania	Total
1934	Austria  Belgium  Bulgaria  Czechoslovakia[A]  Estonia  France  Germany[B]  Greece  Hungary  Irish Free State[C]  Italy[D]  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Netherlands  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Spain  Sweden   Switzerland  Yugoslavia[E]	none	Cuba  Haiti  Mexico  United States	Palestine, British Mandate[F]	Egypt[G]	none	27
1938	Finland  Latvia  Norway	none	none	none	none	none	3
1950	England  Ireland[H]  Scotland  Turkey[I]  Wales	none	none	Syria	none	none	6
1954	Saar	Brazil[J]  Chile[K]  Paraguay[L]	none	Japan[M]  South Korea	none	none	6
1958	Denmark  East Germany  Iceland  Soviet Union[N]	Argentina[O]  Bolivia[P]  Colombia[Q]  Peru[R]  Uruguay[S]	Canada  Costa Rica[T]  Guatemala  Territory of Curaçao[U]	China PR  Indonesia[V]	Sudan	none	16
1962	Cyprus[W]	Ecuador[X]	Dutch Guyana[Y]  Honduras	none	Ethiopia  Ghana  Morocco  Nigeria  Tunisia	none	9
1966	Albania	Venezuela[Z]	Jamaica  Trinidad and Tobago	North Korea	none	Australia	6
1970	none	none	Bermuda  El Salvador[AA]	none	Algeria[AB]  Cameroon[AC]  Libya[AD]  Rhodesia[AE]  Senegal[AF]  Zambia	New Zealand	9
1974	Malta	none	Antigua and Barbuda  Puerto Rico	Hong Kong  Iran  Iraq  Kuwait  Malaysia  South Vietnam[AG]  Thailand	Congo  Dahomey[AH]  Guinea[AI]  Ivory Coast  Kenya  Lesotho  Mauritius  Sierra Leone  Tanzania  Togo  Zaire[AJ]	none	21
1978	none	none	Barbados  Dominican Republic  Guyana  Panama	Bahrain  Qatar  Republic of China[AK]  Saudi Arabia  Singapore	Malawi  Mauritania  Niger  Uganda  Upper Volta[AL]	none	14
1982	none	none	Grenada	Macau	Gambia  Liberia[AM]  Madagascar[AN]  Mozambique  Somalia	Fiji	8
1986	none	none	none	Bangladesh  Brunei  Jordan  India[AO]    Nepal  North Yemen[AP]  South Yemen  United Arab Emirates[AQ]	Angola	none	9
1990	none	none	none	Oman[AR]  Pakistan	Gabon[AS]	none	3
1994	Faroe Islands  San Marino	none	Nicaragua  Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Lebanon[AT]  Sri Lanka[AU]	Botswana  Burundi  Namibia  South Africa  Swaziland	Solomon Islands  Tahiti  Vanuatu	15
1998	Armenia  Azerbaijan  Belarus  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Croatia  Georgia  Liechtenstein[AV]  Macedonia  Moldova  Slovakia  Slovenia  Ukraine	none	Aruba  Belize  Cayman Islands  Dominica  Saint Kitts and Nevis	Cambodia  Kazakhstan  Kyrgyzstan  Maldives[AW]  Philippines[AX]  Tajikistan  Turkmenistan  Uzbekistan	Guinea-Bissau  Rwanda[AY]	Cook Islands  Papua New Guinea  Tonga  Western Samoa[AZ]	31
2002	Andorra	none	Anguilla  Bahamas[BA]  British Virgin Islands  Montserrat  Turks and Caicos Islands  U.S. Virgin Islands	Guam  Laos  Mongolia  Palestine	Cape Verde  Central African Republic[BB]  Chad  Djibouti  Equatorial Guinea  Eritrea  Mali[BC]  São Tomé and Príncipe[BD]  Seychelles	American Samoa	21
2006	none	none	none	Afghanistan	none	New Caledonia	2
2010	Montenegro	none	none	Myanmar[BE]  Timor-Leste	Comoros	Tuvalu[BF]	5
2014	none	none	none	none	none	none	0
2018	Gibraltar  Kosovo	none	none	Bhutan[BG]	South Sudan	none	4
Total							215[

61. The Czechoslovakia team was officially renamed as the  Representation of Czechs and Slovaks during the 1994 qualification, and was then succeeded by the  Czech Republic (first appearance: 1998).
63. Germany was later succeeded by  West Germany (first appearance: 1954), which in turn was succeeded by the reunified  Germany (first appearance: 1994).
65. The Irish Free State was later succeeded by  Ireland (first appearance: 1950), which later became officially known as the  Republic of Ireland (first appearance: 1954).
67. Italy had to qualify for the tournament despite being the host.
69. The  Kingdom of Yugoslavia was later succeeded by the  Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (first appearance: 1950), which was then succeeded by the  Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (first appearance: 1998), which was later renamed as  Serbia and Montenegro (first appearance: 2006), which in turn was succeeded by  Serbia (first appearance: 2010).
71. Mandatory Palestine was later succeeded by  Israel (first appearance: 1950).
73. Egypt was later succeeded by the  United Arab Republic, a political union between Egypt and Syria, which entered the 1962 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. Later, Egypt entered the 1966 qualification independently but still under the name "United Arab Republic", but withdrew yet again before playing any matches. The team's first appearance after it changed its name back to  Egypt came in 1974.
75. Ireland was later succeeded by  Northern Ireland (first appearance: 1954).
77. Turkey entered the 1934 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
79. Brazil entered the 1934 and 1938 qualifications, but on both occasions qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals. It also qualified automatically for the 1950 World Cup as host.
81. Chile entered the 1934 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. It also entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals.
83. Paraguay entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals.
85. Japan entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
87. The Soviet Union was later succeeded by  Russia (first appearance: 1994).
89. Argentina entered the 1934 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals. It also entered the 1938 and 1950 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
91. Bolivia entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals.
93. Colombia entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
95. Peru entered the 1934, 1950 and 1954 qualifications, but on all three occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
97. Uruguay entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals. It also qualified automatically for the 1954 World Cup as defending champion.
99. Costa Rica entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
101. The  Territory of Curaçao (six islands) was later succeeded by the  Netherlands Antilles (first appearance: 1962), which in turn was succeeded by  Curaçao (one island; first appearance: 2014).
103. Indonesia entered the 1938 qualification as  Dutch East Indies, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals. It also entered the 1950 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
105. Cyprus entered the 1958 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
107. Ecuador entered the 1950 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
109. Dutch Guyana entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. It was later succeeded by  Suriname (first appearance: 1978).
111. Venezuela entered the 1958 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
113. El Salvador entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
115. Algeria entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
117. Cameroon entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
119. Libya entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
121. Rhodesia was later succeeded by  Zimbabwe (first appearance: 1982).
123. Senegal entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
125. South Vietnam was later succeeded by  Vietnam (first appearance: 1994).
127. Dahomey was later renamed as  Benin (first appearance: 1986).
129. Guinea entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
131. Zaire was renamed as  DR Congo during the 1998 qualification.
133. The Republic of China entered the 1954 and 1958 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches. It later became officially known as  Chinese Taipei (first appearance: 1982).
135. Upper Volta was later renamed as  Burkina Faso (first appearance: 1990).
137. Liberia entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
139. Madagascar entered the 1974 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
141. India entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals, and subsequently withdrew from participation in the finals. It also entered the 1974 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
143. North Yemen was later succeeded by  Yemen (first appearance: 1994).
145. The United Arab Emirates entered the 1978 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
147. Oman entered the 1986 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
149. Gabon entered the 1966 and 1974 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
151. Lebanon entered but was disqualified during the 1986 qualification, and the team's matches from that campaign were annulled.
153. Sri Lanka entered the 1974 and 1978 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
155. Liechtenstein entered the 1994 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
157. The Maldives entered the 1990 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
159. The Philippines entered the 1950 and 1974 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
161. Rwanda entered the 1990 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
163. Western Samoa entered the 1994 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. It was later renamed as  Samoa (first appearance: 2002).
165. The Bahamas entered the 1998 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
167. The Central African Republic entered the 1978 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. It also entered the 1982 qualification, but was disqualified before playing any matches.
169. Mali entered the 1966, 1994 and 1998 qualifications, but on all three occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
171. São Tomé and Príncipe entered the 1994 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
173. Myanmar entered the 1950 (as  Burma), 1994 and 2002 qualifications, but on all three occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
175. Tuvalu was not a member of FIFA at the time of qualification and had not entered the FIFA World Cup, although matches in the Football tournament of the South Pacific Games did count towards the qualification tournament for the OFC, and Tuvalu's results did count in determining advancement from this stage.
177. Bhutan entered the 2010 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.

National teams results in World Cup preliminary competition (1934–2018)

Up to and including the 2018 qualification.

1. Teams are ranked by total points (using the three points for a win system), then by goal difference, then by goals scored. Note that this column does not represent any official rankings.

2. Only qualifying campaigns are counted where the team played at least one match that was not annulled.

Top scorers in preliminary competition (1934–2018)

(updated as of FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers)

#	Nation	Player	Goals	Games played	Goal ratio	Qualification tournaments
1		Carlos Ruiz	39	47	0.75	2002 (8 goals), 2006 (10), 2010 (6), 2014 (6), 2018 (9)
2		Ali Daei	35	50	0.70	1994 (7 goals), 1998 (9), 2002 (10), 2006 (9)
3		Cristiano Ronaldo	30	38	0.79	2006 (7 goals), 2014 (8), 2018 (15)
4		Karim Bagheri	28	29	0.97	1998 (19 goals), 2002 (8), 2010 (1)
5		Kazu Miura	27	25	1.08	1994 (13 goals), 1998 (14)
6		Andriy Shevchenko	26	40	0.65	1998 (4 goals), 2002 (10), 2006 (6), 2010 (6)
7		Tim Cahill	25	36	0.69	2006 (7 goals), 2010 (4), 2014 (3), 2018 (11)
8		Carlos Pavón	25	37	0.68	1998 (2 goals), 2002 (15), 2006 (1), 2010 (7)
9		Edin Džeko	24	31	0.77	2010 (9 goals), 2014 (10), 2018 (5)
10		Jared Borgetti	23	24	0.96	2002 (6 goals), 2006 (14), 2010 (3)
11		Robert Lewandowski	21	28	0.75	2010 (2 goals), 2014 (3), 2018 (16)
12		Paulo Wanchope	21	37	0.57	1998 (6 goals), 2002 (7), 2006 (8)
13		Lionel Messi	21	45	0.47	2010 (4 goals), 2014 (10), 2018 (7)
14		Luis Suárez	21	48	0.44	2010 (5 goals), 2014 (11), 2018 (5)
15		Archie Thompson	20	15	1.33	2002 (16 goals), 2006 (2), 2014 (2)
16		Stern John	20	49	0.41	1998 (3 goals), 2002 (3), 2006 (12), 2010 (2)
17		Vaughan Coveny	19	19	1.00	1998 (4 goals), 2002 (9), 2006 (6)
18		Emmanuel Sanon	19	20	0.95	1974 (11 goals), 1978 (8)
19		Pauleta	19	24	0.79	2002 (8 goals), 2006 (11)
20		Zlatan Ibrahimović	19	29	0.66	2002 (1 goal), 2006 (8), 2010 (2), 2014 (8)
21		Hernán Crespo	19	33	0.58	1998 (3 goals), 2002 (9), 2006 (7)
22		Didier Drogba	18	19	0.95	2006 (9 goals), 2010 (6), 2014 (3)
23		Moumouni Dagano	18	24	0.75	2002 (1 goal), 2006 (5), 2010 (12)
24		Samuel Eto'o	18	29	0.62	2002 (3 goals), 2006 (4), 2010 (9), 2014 (2)
25		Raúl Díaz Arce	18	29	0.62	1994 (2 goals), 1998 (9), 2002 (7)
26		Marcelo Salas	18	32	0.56	1998 (11 goals), 2002 (4), 2006 (1), 2010 (2)
27		Robbie Keane	18	37	0.49	2002 (2 goals), 2006 (4), 2010 (6), 2014 (6)
28		Clint Dempsey	18	43	0.42	2010 (5 goals), 2014 (8), 2018 (5)
29		Iván Zamorano	17	11	1.54	1990 (1 goal), 1998 (12), 2002 (4)
30		Deon McCaulay	17	16	1.06	2010 (2 goals), 2014 (11), 2018 (4)
31		Dimitar Berbatov	17	24	0.71	2002 (6 goals), 2006 (8), 2010 (5)
32		Alexander Frei	17	25	0.68	2002 (5 goals), 2006 (7), 2010 (5)
33		Alvaro Saborio	17	41	0.41	2006 (3 goals), 2010 (6), 2014 (8)