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Goals scored by defenders often feel like an added bonus, considering their main responsibility is to prevent goals. But when a defender scores on football’s biggest stage — the FIFA World Cup — it can transform them into national heroes.

Over the years, numerous celebrated defenders have managed to get on the scoresheet, but only a handful have scored more than once. Below is a list of those exceptional few.

To maintain fairness, only goals scored while the players were actually deployed as defenders have been included. For instance, Franz Beckenbauer netted five World Cup goals, but the majority came while he was playing in a sweeper or midfield role.

With that in mind, here are the top-scoring defenders in World Cup history.

Former Bolton Wanderers player Fernando Hierro scored five goals across his World Cup appearances, but just two came when he was playing as a defender. Those strikes occurred in his final tournament, when he shifted from defensive midfield back to centre back. His first came against Slovenia in a 3-1 victory, and his second also in a 3-1 win, this time against Paraguay.

South Korea’s current manager, Hong Myung-bo, boasts an impressive World Cup scoring record. Both of his two goals came in the 1994 World Cup — one against Spain and another versus Germany — in what was widely regarded as a ‘Group of Death’.

Lilian Thuram might have scored just twice at the World Cup, but his goals were among the most significant in France’s history. In the 1998 semi-final against Croatia, France fell behind 1-0 before Thuram equalised a minute later and then scored the decisive winner, propelling France into the final on home soil. France would go on to lift their first-ever World Cup, inspired by Zinedine Zidane’s brilliance in the final.

Thiago Silva opened his World Cup account on home soil during the 2014 quarter-final against Colombia. Although he missed the semi-final against Germany — a match remembered for all the wrong reasons — he later added another goal in 2018, scoring during Brazil’s 2-0 group-stage win over Serbia.

Belgium’s Jan Vertonghen netted his first World Cup goal against South Korea in 2014, sealing a 1-0 victory. His second came four years later, in 2018, during Belgium’s remarkable comeback against Japan. Trailing 2-0, Vertonghen’s looping header sparked a rally that ended with a dramatic 94th-minute winner from Nacer Chadli, another former Tottenham Hotspur player.

Among all the defenders mentioned, England’s John Stones is the only one still active at the upcoming World Cup, giving him a chance to extend his tally. Both of his existing World Cup goals came in 2018, during England’s emphatic 6-1 victory over Panama.

Portugal’s veteran centre back Pepe took eight World Cup matches to finally score, netting his team’s solitary goal in a 2-1 round-of-16 defeat to Uruguay in 2018. He struck again in 2022, this time in a dominant 6-1 triumph over Switzerland at the same stage.

In the 2018 World Cup, a group-stage encounter between Germany and South Korea seemed destined for a goalless draw. With Germany — the reigning champions — chasing a late winner, they were caught out at the back, allowing Kim Young-gwon to score. Initially ruled offside, the goal was awarded after a VAR check, and Son Heung-min sealed a famous 2-0 victory. Kim later added another goal in 2022 during South Korea’s 2-1 win over Portugal in the group stage.

Argentine defender Marcos Rojo proved to be a surprising attacking threat in the 2014 tournament. After providing an assist on his World Cup debut, he scored in Argentina’s 3-2 group-stage win over Nigeria. Four years later, now playing centrally, he found the net against the same opponents once more.

West Germany’s Paul Breitner holds the rare distinction of scoring in two separate World Cup finals. In 1974, playing as a left back, he scored three goals in total, including the equaliser against the Netherlands in the final. Eight years later, in 1982, he found the net again — this time while playing as a midfielder — in the final against Italy.

Argentina’s Daniel Passarella began his World Cup scoring in 1978, opening the scoring in a group-stage win over France. He followed that up in 1982, scoring twice — once in the initial group stage against El Salvador and again in the second group stage against Italy.