Group the goalscorers. Find the hidden connection. Challenge your friends to beat your time.
This free connections puzzle game tests your knowledge of the greatest goalscorers in FIFA World Cup history — from Miroslav Klose's all-time record of 16 goals to Just Fontaine's extraordinary 13-goal tournament in 1958. Choose from three themed puzzles, each presenting 16 player names that you must sort into four groups of four based on a hidden connection.
Group 16 top World Cup scorers by the nation they represented. Germany, Brazil, Argentina and France have produced some of the game's greatest marksmen — but can you tell them apart?
Find the four players who all scored at the same World Cup tournament. From Maradona's 1986 Mexico masterclass to Kane's Golden Boot in Russia 2018, these tournaments live in football history.
Group the Golden Boot winners by the era in which they claimed the award — from Ademir in 1950 through to Harry Kane in 2018. The hardest of the three puzzles, and the most rewarding to crack.
The FIFA World Cup all-time scoring record is held by Miroslav Klose of Germany with 16 goals, scored across four tournaments from 2002 to 2014. He is followed by Brazil's Ronaldo (15 goals, 1998–2006) and West Germany's Gerd Müller (14 goals, 1970–1974). France's Just Fontaine holds the single-tournament record — an astonishing 13 goals in just six matches at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, a record that has stood for over 65 years.
Among active players, Kylian Mbappé leads the way with 12 World Cup goals across 2018 and 2022, already 6th on the all-time list. Lionel Messi has scored 13 goals across five tournaments, making him the highest-scoring South American player in World Cup history. Harry Kane won the Golden Boot at Russia 2018 with 6 goals and has 11 career World Cup goals with England.
Select a puzzle from the three options, then click four player tiles that share the same hidden connection. Hit Submit to check your answer. A correct group is revealed with a colour-coded row — yellow for easiest, purple for hardest. You have four mistakes before the game ends, and a five-minute time limit per puzzle. After completing a puzzle, challenge a friend by entering your name and generating a shareable link — they'll see your score and have to beat it.
Miroslav Klose of Germany scored 16 goals across four World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) — the all-time record. He surpassed Ronaldo's previous record of 15 goals during the 2014 semi-final in which Germany beat Brazil 7-1.
Just Fontaine of France scored 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden — all in just six matches. The record has never been threatened since. Hungary's Sándor Kocsis is second with 11 goals at the 1954 tournament.
Kylian Mbappé of France won the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with 8 goals, including a hat-trick in the final against Argentina. He previously scored 4 goals at the 2018 World Cup.
Inspired by the popular NYT Connections format, this game presents 16 player names in a 4×4 grid. Your goal is to identify four groups of four players that share a hidden connection — such as all playing for the same country, or all winning the Golden Boot in the same decade.
More World Cup trivia: World Cup History Quiz · Top Scorer Q&As · 2026 World Cup Quiz