- International football has been blessed with some incredible goalscorers over the years.
- Names like Romelu Lukaku and Neymar are currently on the exclusive list of the top 30 international goalscorers in history.
- The top 10 players include Robert Lewandowski, Ferenc Puskas, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
International football is an entirely different proposition to playing at club level. There are certain stars who perform far better for their country and vice-versa. Considering how less football is played at international level, though, there aren’t as many chances to make an impact for your nation as there is for your club.
That said, some players have still managed to forge incredible legacies for their nations. The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Romelu Lukaku have all become heroes for their countries. We’ve taken a closer look at the top 30 goalscorers in the history of men’s international football.
| Top Goalscorers in Men’s International Football History | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player | Nation | Goals scored |
| 1. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 130 |
| 2. | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 109 |
| 3. | Ali Daei | Iran | 108 |
| 4. | Sunil Chhetri | India | 94 |
| 5. | Mokhtar Dahari | Malaysia | 89 |
| 6= | Ali Mabkhout | United Arab Emirates | 85 |
| 6= | Romelu Lukaku | Belgium | 85 |
| 8. | Ferenc Puskas | Hungary | 84 |
| 9. | Robert Lewandowski | Poland | 83 |
| 10= | Godfrey Chitalu | Zambia | 79 |
| 10= | Neymar | Brazil | 79 |
| 12. | Hussein Saeed Mohammed | Iraq | 78 |
| 13= | Kunishige Kamamoto | Japan | 75 |
| 13= | Bashar Abdullah | Kuwait | 75 |
| 15. | Majed Abdullah | Saudi Arabia | 72 |
| 16= | Kinnah Phiri | Malawi | 71 |
| 16= | Kiatisuk Senamuang | Thailand | 71 |
| 16= | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 71 |
| 19= | Abdul Kadir | Indonesia | 70 |
| 19= | Stern John | Trinidad and Tobago | 70 |
| 21= | Carlos Ruiz | Guatemala | 68 |
| 21= | Luis Suarez | Uruguay | 68 |
| 21= | Robbie Keane | Ireland | 68 |
| 21= | Hossam Hassan | Egypt | 68 |
| 25= | Harry Kane | England | 65 |
| 25= | Didier Drogba | Ivory Coast | 65 |
| 25= | Edin Dzeko | Bosnia | 65 |
| 28. | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Sweden | 62 |
| 29. | David Villa | Spain | 59 |
| 30. | Aleksandar Mitrovic | Serbia | 58 |
30th-21st
Kicking off the list, the section between 30 and 21 features several huge names of the modern era. Sneaking in at 30 is Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has scored 58 times for Serbia throughout his career. The forward has been a goal machine at club level too, making a name for his exploits in front of goal for Fulham and now Al-Hilal.
Other names in this section include the likes of David Villa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic who have scored 59 goals and 62 for their countries respectively. England’s all-time leading goalscorer, Harry Kane, is currently tied with Didier Drogba and Edin Dezko, with the trio all scoring 65 times for their respective countries.
Another trio tied for their number of goals is Hossam Hassan, Robbie Keane and Luis Suarez, scoring 68 times for Egypt, the Republic of Ireland and Uruguay respectively.
20th-11th
Miroslav Klose is the only major name
Moving into the top 20, this section is largely comprised of names that might be unfamiliar to the majority of fans. The only major star to appear here is Miroslav Klose. The German forward is still his nation’s all-time leading scorer, and he hit the back of the net 71 times over the course of his international career. Former Premier League star Stern John is also included here, with 70 goals for Trinidad and Tobago. He’s tied with Indonesian Abdul Kadir.
Thailand’s Kiatisuk Senamuang and Malawi’s Kinnah Phiri are tied with Klose, with 71 goals for their countries. Majed Abdullah ranks just ahead of that trio, with 72 strikes for Saudi Arabia. His namesake, Bashar Abdullah, who scored 75 goals for Kuwait and Kunishige Kamamoto who scored 75 goals for Japan are just above him. Rounding out this section is Hussein Saeed, who misses out on the top 10 by just one goal as he scored 78 times for Iraq.
10th-1st
Messi and Ronaldo are battling it out at the top
Entering the top 10, we’re dealing with the most elite international forwards of all time at this point. Neymar is tied for the 10th spot, with his 79 goals for Brazil tied with Zambia’s Godfrey Chitalu. Narrowly ahead of those two is Robert Lewandowski and Ferenc Puskas, two cult heroes for their national teams Poland and Hungary. The former has scored 83 times so far for his nation, while the latter hit the back of the net 84 times in just 85 appearances for his.
Romelu Lukaku, Belgium’s top scorer, is level with Ali Mabkhout of the United Arab Emirates. The two have scored 85 times for their countries, but just miss out on the top five. Malaysia’s Mokhtar Dahari, India’s Sunil Chhetri and Iran’s Ali Daei all come in next. The trio scored 89, 94 and 108 goals for their countries respectively. Daei was the top scorer in international football for quite some time, but he’s since been usurped by the two greatest players ever.
Following his Copa America goal against Canada, Lionel Messi moved into the top two, having scored 109 goals for Argentina. He’s still got quite some way to go to catch up with his biggest rival, though. While Cristiano Ronaldo failed to find the back of the net a single time during Euro 2024, he is still the all-time leading goalscorer in international football history, with 130 strikes for Portugal.
All statistics courtesy of multiple sources, including Transfermarkt and accurate as of 10/07/2024.