Most defenders go their entire World Cup career without scoring. It’s not their job, obviously. But for the select few who do get on the scoresheet, that goal tends to become a permanent highlight reel moment. Especially if it happens in a knockout game.
We sorted through all the data and found exactly eight defenders who’ve scored more than once at the World Cup. And we set some ground rules: no sweeper-midfield hybrids like Franz Beckenbauer, whose five goals are often lumped in with defenders but came from a roaming midfield role. This list is for guys who were listed as center backs or full backs when they scored.
Fernando Hierro – 2 goals as defender (5 total)
Hierro is a tricky one. He scored five World Cup goals overall but only two while playing center back. That was at his final World Cup in 2002, when he’d moved back from defensive midfield. His first came against Slovenia in a 3-1 win. His second was against Paraguay in another 3-1 win. The other three goals? All from midfield.
Hong Myung-bo – 2
Current South Korea manager. But back in 1994, he was a center back who scored against Spain and Germany in what people called the Group of Death. Two huge goals for a team nobody expected much from.
Lilian Thuram – 2
Only two World Cup goals in his entire career. But one of them was an equalizer against Croatia in the 1998 semifinal. The other was the winner in that same game. France went from 1-0 down to 2-1 up inside 10 minutes. Thuram never scored for France again. But nobody cares when you win a World Cup on home soil.
Thiago Silva – 2
Silva’s first World Cup goal came in Brazil in 2014. He scored the opener against Colombia in the quarterfinal. Then he missed the semifinal against Germany because of a yellow card suspension. We all know what happened after that. In 2018 he scored against Serbia in the group stage.
Jan Vertonghen – 2
Vertonghen scored against South Korea in 2014, a 1-0 group stage win. But his biggest one came in 2018. Belgium was down 2-0 to Japan in the round of 16. His goal started the comeback. Then Nacer Chadli scored in the 94th minute. Belgium survived.
John Stones – 2
Stones is the only guy on this list who might add to his total in 2026. Both his goals came against Panama in a 6-1 win in 2018. Two goals in one game. Not a bad day at the office for a center back.
Pepe – 2
Took him eight World Cup games to get his first. That came in 2018 against Uruguay, a round of 16 loss. His second came in 2022 against Switzerland in a 6-1 win. Pepe was 39 years old when he scored that one. Oldest goalscorer in World Cup knockout stage history.
Kim Young-gwon – 2
His first goal was wild. Germany vs. South Korea in 2018. The defending champions needed a win. They pushed forward. Kim was left completely unmarked inside the box. The goal was initially called offside but VAR overturned it. South Korea won 2-0 and Germany was out. His second came in 2022 against Portugal in a 2-1 group stage win.
Honorable mentions who just missed
Marcos Rojo scored two for Argentina. Both against Nigeria. One in 2014 as a left back, one in 2018 as a center back. Great opponent choice.
Berti Vogts scored three goals as a full back for West Germany, including one in the 1974 World Cup final against the Netherlands. Then in 1982 he scored in the final against Italy, but by then he was playing midfield. So he only counts for one.
Daniel Passarella scored three for Argentina. One in 1978 against France in the group stage. Then two in 1982 against El Salvador and Italy. But the 1982 tournament had two group stages, so those were spread across different rounds.
The point is, getting a goal as a defender at the World Cup is rare. Doing it twice is rarer than most fans realize.
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