Back in 1970 Gerd Muller scored 10 goals in the World Cup. Since then only one player has come anywhere near that standard. That man was the great Ronaldo, who managed eight goals in that tournament and holds the record for highest scoring player in World Cup history with 15. Ronaldo did not earn the Golden Ball for his performance in 2002; that honor was given to the nearly impenetrable Oliver Kahn. But Kahn, who had been dominant throughout the first seven games of the tournament (he only conceded one goal in that span), met his match in the decisive match and allowed not one, but two goals against the superstar forward.

Ronaldo's wondrous run at the Finals in Japan-Korea started in the first game against Turkey when he scored the opening goal by diving at an aerial cross and tipping it in. In the ensuing game against China, Ronaldo scored an "easy" goal in the 55th minute as he got a pass into the middle of the slot and deposited into an awning net. He would repeat the same play against Costa Rica and managed to be in the right place at the right time to slot in his third goal of the tournament. Not satisfied with that result, Ronaldo would register perhaps his most fascinating goal of the tournament. He received a corner cross at the left of the net. Then he managed to somehow cut through two defenders in tight quarters before firing the shot into the net to give Brazil a 3-0 lead; he scored those two goals against Costa Rica in the span of three minutes.

He would continue his torrid scoring pace with a beautiful strike off a cross to give Brazil a 2-0 lead against Belgium. He would fail to score a goal against England (Ronaldinho's wonder goal has been repeatedly referenced), but Ronaldo got back to his scoring ways in the semifinal against Turkey when he received a pass on a break down the left wing. He took six touches with the ball as he dribbled past one defender and ran into the box. Despite having two men on his back and one in front of him, the Brazilian wonder fired a shot at the far post and managed to squeeze it past the goalie for a terrific goal.


But the final is where heroes are made. Ronaldo managed to win the Golden Ball back in 1998 for a breakout performance in which he scored four goals and three assists but almost lost his life prior to the notorious final. During the game, he was peripheral at best and watched his side lost 3-0 to a reinvigorated France; Zinedane Zidane would rise to stardom on account of his performance while Ronaldo would struggle with injuries thereafter. That final would dog his days for years afterward, but in 2002, Ronaldo rose to the occasion and aimed to stamp out that poor memory.

His first goal of the match was the result of a fortunate bounce. Kahn made a huge save on a far blast, but spilled the rebound to an oncoming Ronaldo who slotted it home with relative ease. But the second goal was the true wonder. Ronaldo received a pass in the slot, controlled it, cut into the slot and then fired it at the far post where he beat Kahn to make it 2-0.


Ronaldo would finish the tournament with eight goals in seven matches. He bounced back from a meltdown in the 1998 final to become Brazil's big hero in 2002 with the best goal scoring display in 30 years on the world's biggest stage. Brazil had a host of incredible players during its Cup run, but Ronaldo scored eight out of 18 goals during the run; a tremendous statistic.

Just for fun, here are all of Ronaldo's goals in his three World Cups.