{"id":4721,"date":"2026-05-08T14:50:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T14:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theupdateonline.com\/?p=4721"},"modified":"2026-05-22T14:16:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T14:16:27","slug":"los-8-mejores-delanteros-de-la-copa-del-mundo-de-todos-los-tiempos-y-por-que-lionel-messi-todavia-no-esta-en-la-cima-de-la-lista","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theupdateonline.com\/es\/sports\/the-top-8-greatest-world-cup-forwards-ever-and-why-lionel-messi-still-doesnt-top-the-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Los 8 mejores delanteros de la Copa del Mundo de todos los tiempos, y por qu\u00e9 Lionel Messi todav\u00eda no encabeza la lista"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ce828a8bdb4ebd6c748026d70473beb2\" style=\"color:#800000\">By The Update<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Watch the World Cup anywhere &#8211; secure it with<\/em> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/get.surfshark.net\/aff_c?offer_id=926&amp;aff_id=44292\" rel=\"noopener\">Surfshark<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>TL;DR<\/strong> <em>The greatest World Cup forwards ever? That depends on whether you value goals, trophies, or pure tournament dominance. Ronaldo Naz\u00e1rio takes top spot ahead of Pel\u00e9 and Lionel Messi, though Diego Maradona at No.4 may cause the biggest argument of all.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The World Cup has a way of exposing forwards more brutally than any club competition. No systems, no excuses, no hiding places. Just goals, pressure, and memory.<br><br>So when we talk about the greatest World Cup forwards ever, we\u2019re really talking about who delivered when football stopped caring about reputation. Out there, it\u2019s brutally simple: turn up, score goals, win games\u2026and for the love of all things sacred, don\u2019t vanish when it matters most. Especially if you\u2019re a forward.<br><br>This list isn\u2019t about the greatest players ever in theory, it\u2019s about the ones who actually delivered when the spotlight was blinding and the margins were microscopic. Goals, moments, medals, the evidence is pretty unforgiving. You&#8217;ll absolutely disagree with parts of this. In fact, if you don\u2019t, I\u2019d be disappointed. That means it\u2019s doing exactly what a proper football list should: starting arguments that ruin group chats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ronaldo Naz\u00e1rio<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cImagine you asked God to be the best player in the world, and he listened to you\u201d<\/em> &#8211; Bobby Robson once said. And no, before anyone gets ideas, he absolutely wasn\u2019t talking about Craig Bellamy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Four World Cups, 15 goals, two winners\u2019 medals and somehow it still feels like the numbers simply don&#8217;t do justice to the sheer wonder and magic of El Fen\u00f3meno. Ronaldo didn\u2019t just play in World Cups, he took them over. There was always something faintly mythological about his relationship with this tournament, as though it existed precisely for a player of his supernatural gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\" Brazil vs Germany 2-0 World Cup Final-2002- Excellent Higlights and goals HD\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DbmwGaESUSo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The defining tournament remains 2002 &#8211; eight goals, two in the final, and a sense of inevitability to every sublime movement. This was a striker who could glide past you or simply go through you, depending on what amused him more. Some forwards collect stats, others collect trophies, Ronaldo took both, then added that rare terrifying quality: when the moment arrived, resistance was mostly a formality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pel\u00e9<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Four World Cups, 12 goals, three titles, which is frankly obscene when you say it out loud. Pel\u00e9\u2019s World Cup career feels less like a timeline and more like a highlight reel the sport refuses to stop replaying. He seemed less a participant than a constant presence shaping the narrative. Winning it at 17, running 1970 like he owned it, casually collecting medals along the way, it all feels a bit unfair. Injuries limited him in 1962 and 1966, yet even that feels folded into the mythology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Pele -Top 10 Impossible Goals Ever\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WXg8P0u9W9I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to argue he should be No.1, you won\u2019t get much pushback. But this list leans slightly towards peak dominance, and Ronaldo\u2019s 2002 just edges it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lionel Messi<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Five World Cups, 13 goals, one title, and let\u2019s be honest, that \u201cone\u201d did a lot of heavy lifting. Messi\u2019s relationship with the tournament feels almost novelistic in its arc. For years, the absence of a winners\u2019 medal lingered awkwardly alongside his brilliance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"HIGHLIGHTS: Argentina triumph over France in brilliant final | World Cup 2022 - BBC\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sA-nmPB0z18?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then 2022 happened and he basically decided to end the debate himself. Goals, assists, control, chaos,  he did everything short of refereeing the games. By the final, it felt less like Argentina were playing and more like Messi was directing events like peak Spielberg. Not bad for someone who supposedly couldn\u2019t do it on this stage, leaving behind a body of work that now sits comfortably among the most complete in World Cup history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Diego Maradona<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Four World Cups, eight goals, one title and yet putting him fourth still feels slightly illegal, borderline criminal in certain parts of Argentina. Because here\u2019s the problem: if this list was just about 1986, Maradona would be No.1 and we\u2019d shut the laptop and go home early. He didn\u2019t just win that tournament, he hijacked it, bent it to his will, and left defenders wondering if they\u2019d actually trained for the right sport. The two goals against England alone are enough to break most ranking systems, one divine, one ridiculous (and also illegal), both unforgettable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Diego Maradona in World Cup 86 is the Highest level a player has ever had \u2013 Unstoppable\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0IL6o8gfbgI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But over multiple tournaments, the numbers don\u2019t quite stack up in the same cold, spreadsheet-friendly way as others above him. And this list, cruelly, does care about that. Still, how do you measure what Maradona was to his people? How do you quantify the way stadiums moved when he moved, or the almost religious devotion he inspired? No one on this list, not even close, captures the raw passion, the emotional chaos, the absolute worship of <em>El Pibe de Oro<\/em>, the Golden Boy. So yes, fourth. Officially. But unofficially? If you want to put him first and defend it like your life depends on it, you wouldn\u2019t be the first, and you definitely won\u2019t be the last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gerd M\u00fcller<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Two World Cups, 14 goals, one title, a return that borders on the absurd. His game lacked ornamentation, built instead on instinct, positioning and an almost mechanical efficiency in front of goal. M\u00fcller wasn\u2019t flashy, he didn\u2019t do stepovers, didn\u2019t care about aesthetics. He just scored. Constantly. Relentlessly. Slight chance? Goal. Scrappy rebound? Goal. Important final? Also goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Gerd M\u00fcller, Der Bomber [Best Goals]\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hCOC1TS9A1I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watching him feels like watching someone who\u2019s solved football and decided not to tell anyone else. In an era that often celebrates complexity, M\u00fcller remains a reminder that the simplest form of striking can also be the most devastating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Johan Cruyff<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Three World Cups and not a single winners\u2019 medal, though to reduce Cruyff\u2019s relationship with the tournament to outcomes feels almost like a category error. Not to mention a relationship with the tournament that always felt slightly unfinished, which is very on brand for Cruyff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He scored 5 goals across 1974 and 1978, but the real story is everything around it. He arrived not merely as a player but as the visible expression of a new way of thinking about football itself, one that briefly made the Netherlands feel less like outsiders and more like inevitability. Total Football redefined how the game could be played, and Cruyff acted like he was conducting it all with a cigarette in one hand and mild disappointment in the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Johan Cruyff - The Impossible is Nothing\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Vib2uy5cf7M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>He famously skipped the 1978 World Cup after a kidnapping attempt on his family (which is the PC version), which feels like the only acceptable reason to miss a tournament of that magnitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kylian Mbapp\u00e9<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Two World Cups, 12 goals, one title, and he\u2019s already gatecrashing this list like he owns it. Mbapp\u00e9\u2019s World Cup career feels less like a rise and more like a sprint. 2018 was explosive, 2022 was borderline ridiculous, a hat-trick in a final is the sort of thing players dream about, not actually do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"HIGHLIGHTS: Argentina triumph over France in brilliant final | World Cup 2022 - BBC\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sA-nmPB0z18?start=23&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The slightly terrifying part? He\u2019s nowhere near finished. If he plays two more tournaments at this level, we\u2019re probably having a very different conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gabriel Batistuta<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Three World Cups, 10 goals, zero titles, which feels harsh, because Batigol absolutely did his job. He wasn\u2019t here to link play or drift wide. He was here to shoot, preferably hard, preferably early, and preferably into the net. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Argentina 5-0 Jamaica World Cup 1998 | Full highlight -1080p HD | Batistuta - Ortega\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Cskon_GSixg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two hat-tricks tell you everything you need to know. The issue? The Argentina teams around him weren\u2019t quite at the same level as others on this list. Give him a stronger supporting cast and this ranking probably looks very different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Thought<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can argue the order. You probably will. That\u2019s the whole point of lists like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Different eras, different teams, different styles, and no clean way to compare them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But strip it back to what the World Cup actually demands. Goals. Big moments, Delivering when it matters. And you keep coming back to the same name. Ronaldo Naz\u00e1rio. Not just great. Not just consistent. Simply inevitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay secure and flexible while following the World Cup 2026 with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/get.surfshark.net\/aff_c?offer_id=926&amp;aff_id=44292\" rel=\"noopener\">Surfshark VPN<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 protect your privacy and access streaming services safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>La Copa del Mundo tiene una forma de exponer a los delanteros de manera m\u00e1s brutal que cualquier competici\u00f3n de clubes. Sin sistemas, sin excusas, sin escondites. Solo goles, presi\u00f3n y memoria. As\u00ed que, cuando hablamos de los mejores delanteros de la Copa del Mundo de todos los tiempos, en realidad hablamos de qui\u00e9n rindi\u00f3 cuando al f\u00fatbol no le importaba la reputaci\u00f3n.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,27,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-football-features","category-football"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theupdateonline.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theupdateonline.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theupdateonline.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theupdateonline.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theupdateonline.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theupdateonline.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theupdateonline.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theupdateonline.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theupdateonline.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theupdateonline.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}