The 10 best strikers in world football RANKED: Mbappe, Haaland, Kane…

Who are the best No.9s in world football right now? The top three pick themselves, but deciding the order is less straightforward. And who are the closest challengers to the elite goalscorers at Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich?

Before we begin, a quick clarification. This list is dedicated exclusively to strikers and recognised No.9s. That means no wingers, wide forwards or attacking players who drift into central areas — this is all about the specialists leading the line.

With that in mind, here’s our ranking of the 10 best centre-forwards in world football right now.

10. Robert Lewandowski

Maybe we’re a bit too blinded by legacy to persevere with Lewandowski in the top 10.

The third top goalscorer in the history of Europe’s five major leagues looked as though he was finally slowing down last season, but he still notched 19 goals and claimed a 14th(!) career league title.

The time is probably right for him to enjoy semi-retirement out in MLS with Chicago Fire, but we could’ve easily imagined the 37-year-old continuing to plunder goals for a title-challenging team in Serie A. He’s a spring chicken by Italian standards.

9. Deniz Undav

A controversial shout, perhaps, but we are looking at the best centre-forwards in European football right now.

We’re not interested in knee-jerk recency bias, but there comes a point where the numbers speak for themselves. Undav has scored 21 goals for club and country this calendar year, outscoring Erling Haaland in 2026, with only the top two names on this list bettering that tally.

The likes of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike undoubtedly possess more pedigree, and probably more class, than the Germany international. But based on the last 12 months, we can’t honestly rank them above him.

8. Viktor Gyokeres

You distil Gyokeres’ recent achievements down to the bare essentials, and you’d swear he’s one of the best in the world.

Arsenal’s top scorer as they claimed their first Premier League title in over 20 years. Almost a hundred goals for Sporting across two title-winning seasons. Twenty-one goals in 37 appearances for Sweden, including a hat-trick in the play-offs to send them to the World Cup.

Then you watch him play. That might sound harsh, but for all his remarkable output, Gyokeres just doesn’t pass the eye test of a truly elite striker. Credit to him for maximising his strengths, yet he looks a sore thumb in the Gunners’ otherwise slick setup. It’s little surprise they’ve already been linked with an upgrade.

7. Julian Alvarez

A bit of an enigma, Alvarez.

His tendency to drift out of games for long stretches last season, particularly in the less glamorous La Liga fixtures, is difficult to ignore. Eight league goals was a poor return for a player reportedly valued at €150million. Arsenal or Barcelona would expect considerably more.

But you look at his big-game credentials, and there’s something undoubtedly alluring about the Argentinian.

He quietly played a key role in Manchester City’s treble, produced some huge moments in Argentina’s last World Cup triumph, smashed home that screamer against Switzerland this summer and impressed throughout Atletico Madrid’s run to the Champions League semi-finals.

You get the sense that Alvarez could explode into life in the right set-up. But he needs to show a bit more consistency if he’s to be ranked alongside the modern-day legends at the top of this list.

6. Mikel Oyarzabal

There’s a perception that all Spain need to become an unstoppable force is a genuine superstar up front. That it was only a lack of cutting edge that stopped them blowing teams away at the World Cup.

That’s a little harsh on Oyarzabal. He scored the winner in the Euro 2024 final, finished this World Cup with five goals – enough to win the Golden Boot in previous editions – and has 18 goals in his last 21 Spain appearances. That’s an outstanding return.

Yet Oyarzabal seems almost allergic to superstardom. Had he chased bigger moves and built more of a public profile, perhaps he’d be leading the line for one of Europe’s elite. Instead, he’s happily stayed with his boyhood club. Fair play to him.

5. Lautaro Martinez

It wasn’t to be for Martinez in the World Cup final. Two enforced changes at centre-back left the Inter striker stranded on the bench. After his decisive interventions against Egypt, Switzerland and England, the feeling of ‘what if?’ will linger over Argentina for a long time.

Forty goals for Argentina. One hundred and seventy-five goals for Inter. Their fourth and third all-time top scorers, respectively. He’s won three Scudetti, winning the Capocannoniere award for Serie A’s top scorer in the last two, and has helped lead the Nerazzurri to two Champions League finals.

You get the sense that El Toro doesn’t quite get the respect he deserves, but that’s the record of an elite-level bagsman.

4. Victor Osimhen

The fourth best centre-forward in world football plays in the Turkish Super Lig. What a world.

Save for the obvious exceptions at the top of this list, there’s arguably a dearth of unquestionably world-class centre-forwards in the game today. The wild transfer fees being mooted for certain names is evidence enough of that.

But we look at Osimhen and we wonder how he’s not leading the line for one of Europe’s top clubs. His Champions League performances against Liverpool and Juventus were those of a striker ready for a Barcelona or a Manchester United.

3. Erling Haaland

The top three sit in a league of their own. There’s barely anything separating them. You could easily argue they’re the three best players on the planet, irrespective of position.

So don’t think that by Haaland being third we’re doing him down. It’s simply a testament to the top two’s outrageous class.

On the one hand, you look at Haaland’s minimal touch maps for Manchester City and might conclude that he’s got a limited game. That he relies on the creative quality of others around him. You wouldn’t see him quarterbacking like Harry Kane, for example.

But that would be a misunderstanding of Haaland’s qualities. He made his name scoring nine goals in one game in an Under-20 World Cup match. He scored a hat-trick on his Champions League debut… for RB Salzburg, finishing the group stage with eight goals, including strikes against Napoli (twice) and Liverpool.

He maintained those absurd numbers at Borussia Dortmund before winning a treble under a manager not known for building around traditional No.9s. He’s also struck 62 goals in just 55 games for Norway, knocking out Brazil and inspiring their best-ever World Cup campaign.

As a pure No.9, Haaland is already entering all-timer conversations at the age of 26. He might be the game’s purest distillation of the art of centre-forward play since Gerd Muller was racking up Ballon d’Ors, European Cups and World Cups in his 1970s pomp.

READ: The final, definitive 2026 Ballon d’Or Power Rankings: Rodri, Yamal or Kane No.1?

2. Kylian Mbappe

“If you never watched Ronaldo Nazario, this is pretty much what it was like.”

So read one of our favourite posts during the World Cup, after Mbappe ripped apart Senegal, or Sweden, or Morocco. We forget which one, such was the routine brilliance of France’s No.10 at this World Cup.

Comparisons to such an icon ought to be sacrilege, but in the case of Mbappe they’re actually on the money. And don’t just take our word for it.

“Look Messi and Ronaldo are two of the best, but Kylian Mbappe is as close to R9 as you’ll see,” says Wayne Rooney.

“He’s skilful, drives at players, run in behind, score goals, and I think we’re at danger of not appreciating it.”

“When I watch Kylian Mbappe, he reminds me of myself in my prime,” Il Fenomeno recently told l’Equipe.

The World Cup’s all-time top goalscorer. The first player in history to win two Golden Boots. We’re witnessing something historic.

There are one or two awkward questions over Mbappe’s lack of defensive effort, and whether that gets exposed at the very highest level. He’s yet to win the Champions League, and you might argue only winning one major trophy with this France is a bit of an underachievement.

But this is the issue of discussing individuals in a collective context. Give Mbappe a proper midfield, like Spain’s, or PSG’s now, and he’d surely flourish.

1. Harry Kane

Goals aren’t the be-all and end-all, but they go a pretty long way if we’re discussing centre-forwards.

And Kane scored 61 goals in all competitions for Bayern Munich last season. To put that in context, it’s more than Cristiano Ronaldo ever managed in his peak.

He claimed a second European Golden Shoe, and capped off the campaign scoring a hat-trick in Bayern’s DFB Pokal final victory. Six goals at the World Cup wasn’t a bad return either.

Not only did Kane outscore Haaland and Mbappe last season, but he did it while functioning in a collective context, facilitating play, and often dropping deep to spread balls about like a world-class playmaker.

Unlike Haaland, he hasn’t won the Champions League. Unlike Mbappe, he hasn’t won the World Cup. But it looks likely he’ll be the first of the three to get his hands on the Ballon d’Or.

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