Brazil,
Hungary and
Iran hold the record of having the most players to have scored 50 or more international goals with four each.
England,
Iraq,
Japan,
Kuwait,
Malaysia and
Thailand each have three players who have achieved the feat. The
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has the highest number of footballers who scored at least 50 international goals, with 33 players.[3]Egypt is the only
African team with more than one player who has scored at least 50 international goals, after
Mohamed Salah achieved the feat on 24 March 2023.[4][5]
The first player to score 50 international goals was
Imre Schlosser of Hungary.[8] He achieved the feat when he scored a brace (two goals) in a 6–2 victory against
Austria on 3 June 1917. In total, he scored 59 international goals in 68 matches, playing his last match on 10 April 1927.[a][9] He remained the highest international goalscorer for 26 years, until his fellow countryman
Ferenc Puskás broke the record in 1953. Puskás was the third player, after
Poul Nielsen of
Denmark, to achieve 50 goals in his international career.[11][12] Nielsen achieved this feat on his 36th
cap against
Sweden in the
1924–28 Nordic Football Championship on 14 June 1925 and scored 52 goals in just 38 matches in his international career.[13][14][15] Puskás netted his 50th goal on 24 July 1952, when he scored a brace in the semi-final match against
Turkey at the
1952 Summer Olympics.[16] However,
Vivian Woodward scored 75 goals in 53 matches considered official internationals by the opposing sides, which would make him the first footballer to score 50 or more international goals, ahead of Imre Schlosser, and was the fastest to achieve the feat, scoring his 50th goal in his 32nd official international match, with a four-goal haul against Hungary on 31 May 1909.[17]
Puskás overall scored 84 goals in his international career,[11] and remained the highest international goalscorer for 24 years following his 84th goal in 1956 against
Austria, until
Mokhtar Dahari of
Malaysia broke the record in the
Merdeka Tournament after scoring his 85th goal on 27 October 1980 against
Kuwait and he went on to score 89 goals for his country in 142 international appearances.[18][19][20] In 2004,
Ali Daei of
Iran broke the record after scoring his 90th goal against
Lebanon.[21][22]
Daei also became the first player to score over 100 goals in international football, ending his career with
109 in total.[23][24] His 100th goal came on 17 November 2004, when he scored a four-goal haul against
Laos in a
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification match.[25] However, the first player from
Asia to reach 50 international goals was
Malaya's
Abdul Ghani Minhat. Furthermore, he was also the first player from outside Europe to achieve it. He achieved the feat on 15 December 1961 against
Thailand and he went on to score 58 goals in 57 international appearances for his country which is 1.02 per match, making him one of the most prolific players in the world.[26][27][28] 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.[29] He became both the fourth player and the fourth European to achieve the feat. He went on to score a total of 75 goals in 65 matches in international football.[30]Cristiano Ronaldo of
Portugal was the second player to score 100 international goals, as well as the first European to achieve the feat. He reached the milestone after scoring a brace against
Sweden in the
2020–21 UEFA Nations League on 8 September 2020.[31]Lionel Messi of
Argentina became the third player to reach and pass the milestone in a friendly match against
Curaçao on 28 March 2023, as well as the first South American to achieve the feat.[32][33][34]
Pelé of Brazil was the first player from
South America to score at least 50 international goals. He attained this in a friendly match against the
Soviet Union on 21 November 1965, and went on to score 77 international goals in 92 matches.[35]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, aged 23 years, 8 months and 6 days.[36]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.[37]
By player
As of 23:15, 6 July 2024 (UTC)
Players in bold are still active at international level.
Indicates the top scorer of all FIFA's confederations.
Indicates the top scorer of the respective confederation.
Indicates the top scorer of the respective nation.
Vivian Woodward was the first player to score 50 international goals and the fastest to achieve the feat, scoring his 50th goal in his 32nd match.
Ferenc Puskás held the record of the highest number of international goals with 84 for 47 years, following his 84th goal in 1956 against Austria, until
Ali Daei broke it in 2003.
Mehdi Taremi was the most recent player to reach 50 international goals.
As of 5 July 2024 (UTC)
*NB: The term "nationality" in this section refers to the nation(s) the player represented (the national team(s) he played for), not to the nationality-ies and/or citizenship(s) he holds.
No OFC player has scored 50 goals in full internationals. The current record holder is
Fiji player
Roy Krishna, with 41 goals in 57 matches.[124]
Footnotes
^
abAustrian sources reported that on 1 November 1908 Imre Schlosser scored a brace in a 5–3 victory against
Austria; one Hungarian source credits the 4–2 to Béla Krempels,[9] with
UEFA also recognizing 59 goals in 68 appearances.[10]
^
abThe match against
Ecuador Olympic team was considered official for two decades before the
Ecuador FA reconsidered, so FIFA no longer recognizes Ali Daei's goal there and, as a result, his number of goals has been reduced to 108 in 148 matches.[25]
^RSSSF mistakenly count the match at
2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification between
Yemen and India but in-fact Sunil Chhetri only played in one match in the year 2006. It was in a 0–3 defeat to
Japan in the same competition.[42][43]
^
abcdefVivian Woodward scored 29 goals in 23 matches for the
professional England team between 1903 and 1911, and 46 goals in 30 matches for the
England amateur side between 1906 and 1914; all matches for the Amateur side were considered official internationals for their respective opponents.[17][52] With the
English Football Association counting the statistics separately for the professional England team and England amateurs,
Harry Kane is the top scorer of the respective nation.[53]
^Matches against UAE and Morocco (in 1988), Kuwait (in 1989), Mali (twice in 1994) and Ghana (in 1997) are not considered official internationals by FIFA, but they are recognised by the
Egyptian Football Association.[65]
^The matches against
Swaziland and Zambia in 2013 are not considered official internationals by FIFA, but they are recognised by the Egyptian Football Association.[82]
^RSSSF does not include a goal in a match played on 29 July 2005 against UAE and a goal in a match played on 25 March 2022 against Latvia, and also wrongly attributes a goal on Al-Mutawa in the match played on 10 September 2018 against Iraq.[6][90][91] NFT (National-Football-Teams) includes a goal in the match played on 17 December 2011 against Saudi Arabia (U-23), a match though recognized neither by FIFA nor by RSSSF, and therefore it is not included here.[6][90]
^4 Olympic matches are not recognised as official by FIFA, but were official for the East German FA.
^"Almoez Ali Abdulla (Player)". National-Football-Teams.com. National Football Teams.
Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024.