Despite their success at the club level, footballers with the most goals in international football are held in high regard by fans from around the world. Cristiano Ronaldo leads the international goal-scoring charts after overtaking the relatively unknown Ali Daei from Iran. International football is highly competitive with the games few and far between. A number of experts consider scoring international goals is tougher than club goals as most national teams come together just four or five times a year.
| Position | Player | Country | Goals | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 117 | 189 |
| 2 | Ali Daei | Iran | 109 | 149 |
| 3 | Mokhtar Dahari | Malaysia | 89 | 142 |
| 4 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 86 | 162 |
| 5 | Ferenc Puskas | Hungary | 84 | 89 |
| 6 | Sunil Chhetri | India | 84 | 129 |
Cristiano Ronaldo | 117 goals| 189 appearances| 0.62 goals per match
Cristiano Ronaldo is the undisputed leading international goal scorer with 117 goals in his career so far. He leapfrogged Ali Daei on September 2, 2021, to become the leading international goalscorer of all time during a World Cup qualifying game against the Republic of Ireland. He took his tally to 115 with a hat trick against Luxembourg in another World Cup qualifying match. He has scored 10 hattricks since making is debut against Kazakhistan.
The 36-year-old has 7 goals to his name in the FIFA World Cup finals and 14 at the UEFA Euro finals, which is the most in the tournament. He is also the most capped international player at the UEFA Euros. The former Juventus man made his international debut for Portugal in 2003 at the age of 18. And he has since earned over 180 caps, making him Portugal’s most-capped player. He has captained A Seleção since 2008.
Ali Daei| 109 goals| 148 appearances| 0.74 goals per match
Iran forward Ali Daei held the record for one and a half decades before Cristiano Ronaldo eclipsed his international goal tally. Daei scored his goals between 1993 and 2006 during which he scored eight hattricks. He played his club football with Arminia Bielefeld, Hertha Berlin and Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Daei scored 134 goals in 351 appearances in his club career.
In 2003, Daei became the highest international goalscorer of all time and in 2004, became the first footballer to score 100 international goals. By the time Daei hung up his boots he had amassed 109 goals in 148 appearances for his country. The Iranian center-forward is regarded as the greatest footballer from Western Asia.
Mokhtar Dahari| 89 goals| 142 appearances| 0.62 goals per match
Mohd Mokhtar bin Dahari, commonly referred to as Mokhtar Dahari is currently the third highest goalscorer in international football. Dahari played his football at Selangor where he made 375 appearances across 15 years, scoring 177 goals in the process. There were a number of reports that he had received an offer from Real Madrid which he declined due to his loyalty to the club and country.
He gained the nickname Supermokh because of his unique skill set and strength. The Malaysian scored 89 goals in 142 appearances for the club. During this time, Malaysia reached its highest-ever rank of 61 back in 1977. Dahari hung up his boots in 1986 and unfortunately passed away five years later due to motor neuron disease. It is just a matter of time before Dahari loses his place among the top three goalscorers with Sunil Chhetri and Lionel Messi hot on his heels.
Lionel Messi| 86 goals| 162 appearances| 0.53 goals per match
Lionel Messi is considered by most as the greatest football player of this generation with quite a few regarding him as the best footballer of all time. Messi has won six European Golden Shoes as well as a record seven Ballon d’Or awards. The Argentinian talisman has failed to live up to his goal-scoring at the club level where he has scored 689 goals from 853 appearances. He has the lowest goal/match ratio when compared to the others on this list of most goals in international football.
In terms of hattricks, Messi has only seven for the national team as compared to 48 in the La Liga. He is the most capped Argentinian as well as the highest goal-scorer. Messi even holds the record for most international goals by a South American.
Ferenc Puskas| 84 goals| 89 appearances| 0.95 goals per match
Widely regarded as football’s first international superstar, we have the Hungarian Ferenc Puskás to end the list. Modern media tags him as one of the finest players in Real Madrid’s history. While there is no denying what the man from Budapest has achieved at the club level. Having lifted ten league titles and three European Cups to name a few, his crowning achievements have come for his national side.
Puskás guided Hungary to Olympic gold in 1952 and Central European International Cup 1948–53. Magyarok was carried by Ferenc in the 1954 World Cup all the way to the finals. However, despite Puskás opening the scoring his side ended up losing 2-3 to West Germany. Ferenc would go on to represent the Spanish national team for four fixtures. He even represented the Madrid autonomous football team once. However, it is the 84 goals he scored in 85 games for Hungary that puts him on the list of legends of the sport and in our list. He has the highest goals to game ratio on this list of most goals in international football.
Sunil Chhetri| 84 goals| 129 appearances| 0.65 goals per match
Sunil Chhetri is widely regarded as one of the best football players to come out of Asia. The Indian striker is an icon in the sub-continent and also holds the record for the most appearances in international football. Chhetri has played in India for most of his career with a brief stint in Europe. For this reason, he is one of the lesser-known names on this list.
Sunil has won 2007, 2009, and 2012 editions of the Nehru Cup. As well as the 2011, 2015, and 2021 SAFF Championship. Furthermore, he won the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, guiding India to its first AFC Asian Cup in 27 years. He is fifth on the table of most goals in international football and should be able to leapfrog Puskas into fifth by himself soon.
Sunil Chhetri has had a remarkable club career as well scoring 188 goals in 393 appearances in all competitions. He has played for a number of clubs in the country including Mohun Bagan, JCT, East Bengal, Dempo, Chirag United, Churchill Brothers, Mumbai City, and Bengaluru. He currently plays for Bengaluru FC in the Hero ISL where he has scored 73 goals from 153 appearances for the club.
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