List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals

The first player to score 50 international goals was Poul Nielsen of Denmark. He achieved this feat on his 36th cap against Sweden in the 1924–28 Nordic Football Championship on 14 June 1925. This is also the fewest matches played by any player to score 50 goals. He scored 52 goals in just 38 matches in his international career.[1][2][3][4] Ferenc Puskás of Hungary was the second player and the second European after Nielsen to achieve the feat. His 50th goal came on 24 July 1952, when he scored a brace (two goals) in the semi-final match against Turkey at the 1952 Summer Olympics.[5] Puskás scored 84 goals in his international career.[6] He remained the highest international goalscorer for 47 years following his 84th goal in 1956 against Austria until Ali Daei of Iran broke the record in 2003 after scoring his 85th goal against Lebanon.[7] Daei is the only player to score over 100 goals in international football with 109 goals.[8][9] He scored his 50th goal in a friendly match against Mexico on 9 January 2000, becoming the first Asian footballer to achieve the feat. His 100th goal came on 17 November 2004, when he scored a hat-trick (in this case four goals) against Laos in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification.[10] However, the first player from Asia to score at least 50 goals was Japan's Kunishige Kamamoto. He achieved the feat after scoring against Malaysia in 1972 Merdeka Tournament and he went on to score 80 goals for his country in 84 international appearances.[11][12] Just two years after Puskás' scored his 50th goal, his teammate Sándor Kocsis did the same on 19 September 1954 in a friendly match against Romania.[13] He became the third player and the third European to achieve the feat. He went on to score a total of 75 goals in 65 matches in international football.[14]

Poul Nielsen of Denmark, the first player ever to score 50 international goals, was the fastest to do so scoring his 50th goal in his 36th match.

Pelé of Brazil was the first player from outside Europe and the first player from South America to score at least 50 goals. He attained this in a friendly match against the Soviet Union on 21 November 1965. He scored 77 international goals in 92 matches.[15] Malawi's Kinnah Phiri was the first player from Africa, and also the youngest player, to score 50 international goals. He scored his 50th goal in a friendly match against Sierra Leone on 6 July 1978 when he was 23 years 8 months and 6 days old.[16] Stern John of Trinidad and Tobago was the first player from North America to score 50 international goals. He scored 70 goals in 115 matches with his 50th goal coming in a friendly match against the Dominican Republic on 13 June 2004.[17]

To date four players each representing Brazil and Hungary have scored 50 or more international goals. Iraq and Japan each have three players who have achieved the feat. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has the highest number of footballers who have scored at least 50 goals in their international career with 23 players achieving the feat to date.[18]

Bader Al-Mutawa of Kuwait has played the most matches so far to score 50 international goals.[19] He scored his 50th goal during his 155th international appearance, while scoring a hat-trick against Myanmar on 3 September 2015 during 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[20]

By player

Ali Daei of Iran is the only male player to score over 100 goals in international football having scored 109 goals in his career.
Ferenc Puskás, the second player to score 50 goals in international football, held the record of highest number of international goals with 84 for 47 years following his 84th goal in 1956 against Austria. Ali Daei broke it in 2003 after scoring his 85th goal against Lebanon.
Sándor Kocsis is the third player and also the third European after Nielsen and Puskas to score at least 50 goals in international football.
As of 2 December 2019

Players in bold are still active at international level.

Indicates the FIFA world top scorer.
Indicates the top scorer of the respective confederation.
Indicates the top scorer of the respective nation.
No. Name Nation Confederation International
goals
Caps Goals
per match
Career span Date of 50th goal Ref.
1 Ali Daei  Iran AFC 1091490.731993–20069 January 2000[10]
2 Cristiano Ronaldo  Portugal UEFA 991640.62003–26 June 2014[21]
3 Ferenc Puskás  Hungary UEFA 8485[lower-alpha 1]0.991945–195624 July 1952[6]
4 Godfrey Chitalu  Zambia CAF 791110.711968–19807 November 1978[22]
5 Hussein Saeed  Iraq AFC 781370.571977–199017 March 1984[23]
6 Pelé  Brazil CONMEBOL 77920.841957–19714 July 1965[15]
7 Sándor Kocsis  Hungary UEFA 75681.11948–195619 September 1954[13]
Kunishige Kamamoto  Japan AFC 75760.991964–197718 July 1972[11]
Bashar Abdullah  Kuwait AFC 751340.561996–200725 December 2002[24]
10 Sunil Chhetri  India AFC 721150.632005–31 December 2015[25]
11 Kinnah Phiri  Malawi CAF 711150.621973–198106 July 1978[16]
Majed Abdullah  Saudi Arabia AFC 711160.611977–199415 April 1984[26]
Kiatisuk Senamuang  Thailand AFC 711340.531993–200723 January 2001[27]
Miroslav Klose  Germany UEFA 711370.522001–201427 June 2010[28]
15 Piyapong Pue-on  Thailand AFC 701000.71981–199730 January 1989[29]
Stern John  Trinidad and Tobago CONCACAF 701150.611995–201213 June 2004[17]
Lionel Messi  Argentina CONMEBOL 701380.512005–29 March 2016[30]
Hossam Hassan  Egypt CAF 701690.411985–200625 February 1998[31][32]
19 Gerd Müller  West Germany UEFA 68621.11966–197418 June 1972[33]
Carlos Ruiz  Guatemala CONCACAF 681330.511998–201615 August 2012[34]
Robbie Keane  Republic of Ireland UEFA 681460.471998–20164 June 2011[35]
22 Didier Drogba  Ivory Coast CAF 651050.622002–201413 January 2012[36]
23 Ronaldo  Brazil CONMEBOL 62980.631994–201119 November 2003[37]
Zlatan Ibrahimović  Sweden UEFA 621160.532001–20164 September 2014[38]
Ahmed Radhi  Iraq AFC 621210.511982–199718 August 1992[39]
26 Neymar  Brazil CONMEBOL 611010.62010–10 November 2016[40]
Robert Lewandowski  Poland UEFA 611120.542008–5 October 2017[41]
28 Ali Mabkhout  United Arab Emirates AFC 60830.722009–31 August 2019[42]
29 Imre Schlosser  Hungary UEFA 59680.871906–19276 May 1917[43]
David Villa  Spain UEFA59980.62005–201711 October 2011[44]
Luis Suárez  Uruguay CONMEBOL 591130.522007–23 March 2018[45]
32 Edin Džeko  Bosnia and Herzegovina UEFA 581070.542007–28 March 2017[46]
Cha Bum-kun  South Korea AFC 581350.431972–19865 September 1977[47]
34 Carlos Pavón  Honduras CONCACAF 571010.561993–201028 March 2009[48]
Clint Dempsey  United States CONCACAF 571410.42004–20187 June 2016[49]
Younis Mahmoud  Iraq AFC 571480.392002–20165 March 2014[50]
Landon Donovan  United States CONCACAF 571570.362000–20145 July 2013[51]
38 Samuel Eto'o  Cameroon CAF 561180.471997–20143 September 2011[52]
Bader Al-Mutawa  Kuwait AFC 561780.312003–3 September 2015[19]
40 Romário  Brazil CONMEBOL 55700.791987–20058 October 2000[53]
Kazuyoshi Miura  Japan AFC 55890.621990–20007 September 1997[54]
Jan Koller  Czech Republic UEFA 55910.61999–20098 September 2007[55]
Fandi Ahmad  Singapore AFC 551010.541979–199716 December 1995[56]
44 Gabriel Batistuta  Argentina CONMEBOL 54770.71991–200229 June 2000[57]
45 Ali Ashfaq  Maldives AFC 53800.662003–29 March 2016[58]
Joachim Streich  East Germany UEFA 53980.541969–198426 July 1983[59]
Wayne Rooney  England UEFA 531200.442003–20188 September 2015[60]
48 Poul Nielsen  Denmark UEFA 52381.371910–192514 June 1925[1]
Romelu Lukaku  Belgium UEFA 52840.622010–10 October 2019[61]
Phil Younghusband  Philippines AFC 521080.482006–201922 March 2018[62]
Javier Hernández  Mexico CONCACAF 521090.482009–23 June 2018[63]
Jon Dahl Tomasson  Denmark UEFA 521120.461997–201021 November 2007[64]
Adnan Al Talyani  United Arab Emirates AFC 521610.321983–199719 November 1996[65]
54 Lajos Tichy  Hungary UEFA 51720.711955–197125 April 1964[66]
Lê Công Vinh  Vietnam AFC 51830.612004–201620 November 2016[67]
Asamoah Gyan  Ghana CAF 511090.482003–11 June 2017[68]
Hakan Şükür  Turkey UEFA 511120.461992–200711 October 2006[69]
Thierry Henry  France UEFA 511230.411997–20109 September 2009[70]
59 Karim Bagheri  Iran AFC 50870.571993–20109 January 2009[71]
Robin van Persie  Netherlands UEFA 501020.492005–201713 October 2015[72]
Hwang Sun-hong  South Korea AFC 501030.491988–20024 June 2002[73]
Tim Cahill  Australia AFC / OFC [lower-alpha 2] 501080.462004–201810 October 2017[78]
Edinson Cavani  Uruguay CONMEBOL 501160.432008–18 November 2019[79]
Shinji Okazaki  Japan AFC 501190.422008–28 March 2017[80]

By nationality

As of 18 November 2019
Pelé of Brazil was the first player from outside Europe to have scored at least 50 goals in international career.
No. Country Confederation
4  BrazilCONMEBOL
 HungaryUEFA
3  IraqAFC
 JapanAFC
2  ArgentinaCONMEBOL
 DenmarkUEFA
 Germany
(including  West Germany)
UEFA
 IranAFC
 KuwaitAFC
 South KoreaAFC
 ThailandAFC
 United Arab EmiratesAFC
 United StatesCONCACAF
 UruguayCONMEBOL
1  AustraliaAFC / OFC
 BelgiumUEFA
 Bosnia and HerzegovinaUEFA
 CameroonCAF
 Czech RepublicUEFA
 EgyptCAF
 EnglandUEFA
 FranceUEFA
 East GermanyUEFA
 GhanaCAF
 GuatemalaCONCACAF
 HondurasCONCACAF
 IndiaAFC
 Ivory CoastCAF
 MalawiCAF
 MaldivesAFC
 MexicoCONCACAF
 NetherlandsUEFA
 PhilippinesAFC
 PolandUEFA
 PortugalUEFA
 Republic of IrelandUEFA
 Saudi ArabiaAFC
 SingaporeAFC
 SpainUEFA
 SwedenUEFA
 Trinidad and TobagoCONCACAF
 TurkeyUEFA
 VietnamAFC
 ZambiaCAF

By confederation

As of 18 November 2019
Confederation No.
AFC 23
UEFA 21
CONMEBOL 8
CAF 6
CONCACAF 6
OFC 0
Total64

Footnotes

  1. Puskás also played four matches for Spain; 1 in the World cup qualifiers in 1961 and 3 in the 1962 World Cup but did not score any goal for Spain.[6]
  2. Football Federation Australia (FFA) was a member of OFC since its formation in 1966, but in 2006 FFA left OCF and joined AFC.[74][75] Tim Cahill debuted for Australia in 2004 when FFA was a OCF member and ended his international career in 2018.[76][77]

See also

References

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