Top 10 Most International Goal Scorer In Football: From Puskas to Cristiano and Sunil Chhetri
When it comes to international football, names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Sunil Chhetri stand out as the top three active goal scorers in men’s football.
Even in this day and age of club football’s immense appeal, every football player still dreams of scoring goals while wearing the national jersey.
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A select group of players have then recorded their names in history by repeatedly feeling that same emotion.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal has scored the most goals in men’s international football, with 128 goals in 205 games and counting.
Since making his Portugal national team debut in 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored goals on a regular basis. He also holds the record for the most hat-tricks in international football with ten.
But discussing Cristiano Ronaldo without equating him with another contemporary superstar, Lionel Messi, is lacking. The Argentine magician makes an appearance in the top 10 of this prestigious list as is customary.
Third on the all-time list of the highest scoring international players, Lionel Messi has scored 106 goals. He is also the second most prolific goal scorer who is still playing, behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
It’s interesting to note that Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri ranks third among current scorers and fourth overall in the lists of all-time scorers.
In the past ten years, Chhetri has been a big contributor to India’s football success and has become a national hero.
But not just the celebrities of the twenty-first century are listed in the record books.
Legends like Ferenc Puskas of Hungary, who had an incredible goal-to-match ratio of 1:1, and Iran’s Ali Daei, who became the first football player to score 100 goals for his country, are also honored on the roll of honor.
With 108 goals, Ali Daei leads all Asian players in goals scored for their countries, while Zambia’s Godfrey Chitalu leads all African players in goals scored.
The most successful goal scorer in Europe history is Cristiano Ronaldo, with Lionel Messi and Stern John of Trinidad and Tobago (70 goals each) holding the continental records for South and North America, respectively.
Strangely, none of the top 10 all-time international goal scorers include Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who scored the most goals (16) in the FIFA World Cup. In 137 appearances, Klose has scored 71 goals. Pele, the three-time World Cup champion, ranks second on the Brazilian goal scorer list with 77 goals in 92 games, behind only Neymar’s 79 goals.
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Top 10 Most International Goals (Men)
SL No. | NAME | COUNTRY | GOALS | APPEARANCES |
1. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 128* | 205 |
2. | Ali Daei | Iran | 108 | 148 |
3. | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 106* | 180 |
4. | Sunil chhetri | India | 93 | 148 |
5. | Mokhtar Dahari | Malaysia | 89* | 142 |
6. | Ferenc Puskas | Hungary | 84 | 89 |
7. | Ali Mabkhout | UAE | 85* | 114 |
8. | Romelu Lukaku | Belgium | 83 | 113 |
9. | Robert Lewandoswki | Poland | 82* | 146 |
10. | Godfrey Chitalu | Zambia | 79 | 111 |
In contrast, North American football players dominate women’s football in terms of goal scoring.
With an incredible 190 goals, Canadian captain Christine Sinclair holds the top rank. She captained her team to its first-ever Olympic gold medal in football in Tokyo 2020.
With 184 goals, American Olympic gold medallist and World Cup champion Abby Wambach is in second place, followed by her fellow countrywoman Mia Hamm in third.
It’s interesting to note that there are 18 players in women’s football who have scored 100 goals or more for their country, compared to just two in men’s.
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Top 10 Most International Goals (Women)
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SL No. | NAME | COUNTRY | GOALS | APPEARANCES |
1. | Christine Sinclair | Canada | 190* | 322 |
2. | Abby Wambach | USA | 184 | 256 |
3. | Mia Hamm | USA | 158* | 276 |
4. | Carli Lloyd           | USA | 134 | 316 |
5. | Myasa Jbarah | Jordan | 133* | 129 |
6. | Kristine Lilly | USA | 130 | 354 |
7. | Birgit Prinz | Germany | 128* | 214 |
8. | Alex Morgan | USA | 121 | 201 |
9. | Julie Fleeting | Scotland | 116* | 121 |
10. | Marta | Brazil | 115 | 172 |