This section contains the top dozen all-time goalscorers for the Nationalmannschaft, including their records in major international tournaments. The list only includes those players who scored goals in the Schwarz und Weiß, and does not include records for those who played for the East German national team until 1990.
Although the East German team was representative of the East German Deutscher Fußball-Verband der DDR (DFV) rather than the DFB, they are included in the current records published by the DFB.
| Pic | Name | Matches | Goals (Pens) | Strike Rate | First Goal | Opponent, Venue | Last Goal | Opponent, Venue | Tournament Finals | Titles/Awards Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | KLOSE, Miroslav | 137 | 71 | 0.52 | 2001.03.24 | Albania, Leverkusen (debut) | 2014.07.08 | Brazil, Belo Horizonte | WC 2002 (5), EC 2004 (0), WC 2006 (5), EC 2008 (2), WC 2010 (4), EC 2012 (1), WC 2014 (2) | WC Top Scorer 2006, WC Winner 2014, WC All-Time Top Scorer |
 | MÜLLER, Gerhard "Gerd" | 62 | 68 (5) | 1.10 | 1967.04.08 | Albania, Dortmund | 1974.07.07 | Netherlands, München (final match) | WC 1970 (10), EC 1972 (4), WC 1974 (4) | EC Winner 1972, WC Winner 1974, WC Top Scorer 1970, EC Top Scorer 1972 |
 | PODOLSKI, Lukas | 130 | 49 (3) | 0.38 | 2004.12.21 | Thailand, Bangkok | 2017.03.22 | England, Dortmund (final match) | EC 2004 (0), WC 2006 (3), EC 2008 (3), WC 2010 (2), EC 2012 (1), WC 2014 (0), EC 2016 (0) | WC Winner 2014 |
 | VÖLLER, Rudolf "Rudi" | 90 | 47 (1) | 0.62 | 1983.03.30 | Albania, Tiranë | 1994.07.02 | Belgium, Chicago | EC 1984 (2), WC 1986 (3), EC 1988 (2), WC 1990 (3), EC 1992 (0), WC 1994 (2) | WC Winner 1990 |
 | KLINSMANN, Jürgen | 108 | 47 (3) | 0.43 | 1988.04.27 | Switzerland, Kaiserslautern | 1998.06.29 | Mexico, Montpellier | EC 1988 (1), WC 1990 (3), EC 1992 (1), WC 1994 (5), EC 1996 (3), WC 1998 (3) | WC Winner 1990, EC Winner 1996 |
 | RUMMENIGGE, Karl-Heinz | 95 | 45 (3) | 0.47 | 1977.10.08 | Italy, Berlin | 1986.06.29 | Argentina, Mexico City (final match) | Record: WC 1978 (3), EC 1980 (1), WC 1982 (5), EC 1984 (0), WC 1986 (1) | EC Winner 1980 |
 | MÜLLER, Thomas* | 121 | 44 (2) | 0.36 | 2010.06.13 | Australia, Durban | 2022.06.14 | Italy, Mönchengladbach | WC 2010 (5), EC 2012 (0), WC 2014 (5), EC 2016 (0), WC 2018 (0), EC 2020 (0), WC 2022 (0) | WC Top Scorer 2010, WC Winner 2014 |
 | SEELER, Uwe | 72 | 43 (1) | 0.60 | 1958.06.08 | Argentina, Malmö | 1970.06.14 | England, León | WC 1958 (2), WC 1962 (2), WC 1966 (2), WC 1970 (3) | - |
 | BALLACK, Michael | 98 | 42 (10) | 0.43 | 2001.03.28 | Greece, Athens (pen) | 2009.09.09 | Azerbaijan, Hannover (pen) | EC 2000 (0), WC 2002 (3), EC 2004 (1), WC 2006 (0), EC 2008 (2) | - |
 | BIERHOFF, Oliver | 70 | 37 (2) | 0.53 | 1996.03.07 | Denmark, München | 2002.06.01 | Saudi Arabia, Sapporo | EC 1996 (2), WC 1998 (3), EC 2000 (0), WC 2002 (1) | EC Winner 1996 |
 | WALTER, Friedrich "Fritz" | 61 | 33 (2) | 0.54 | 1940.07.14 | Romania, Frankfurt (debut) | 1956.05.26 | England, Berlin | WC 1954 (3), WC 1958 (0) | WC Winner 1954 |
 | FISCHER, Klaus | 45 | 32 | 0.71 | 1977.04.27 | Northern Ireland, Köln (debut) | 1982.07.08 | France, Sevilla | WC 1978 (0), WC 1982 (2) | - |
* Current Players
NB. Joachim Streich scored 59 goals in 105 for the East German national side between 1969 and 1984; these goals are counted by the DFB statisticians, meaning that Streich lies in third place on their list. Likewise, Ulf Kirsten appears in the top ten on the DFB list on account of his scoring 34 goals – he does not appear in the above list however as fourteen of these goals were scored in the Weiß und Blau of the DDR/DFV.
Following his goal in the friendly international against Armenia in Mainz on 6th June 2014, Miroslav Klose moved onto sixty-nine international goals – finally overtaking the forty year old record held by Gerd Müller. Just over a month later in the World Cup semi-final against Brazil in Belo Horizonte, Klose became the leading goalscorer in the history of the tournament – scoring his sixteenth goal to take him ahead of Brazilian Ronaldo.
Following his retirement from international football after the World Cup Final, Klose’s record stood at seventy-one goals – a considerable distance ahead of the next best active players, Thomas Müller (38) and André Schürrle (22). In August 2016 Lukas Podolski, third-highest scorer with 48 goals from 129 matches, also announced his retirement from the Nationalmannschaft. In what was a special final appearance against England, Podolski scored his 49th goal in the Nationaltrikot.