Top 35 International Men’s Football Goalscorers in History

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi hold the leading spots for most goals scored in men’s international football. Their remarkable records have set a high benchmark in the sport’s history.

Players Ranked 35th to 21st

The lower section of the top 35 includes some notable modern players. Starting with Kuwait's Jasem Al-Huwaidi who scored 63 goals, followed by Serbia’s Aleksandar Mitrovic and Thailand’s Teerasil Dangda, both on 64 goals. Ivory Coast legend Didier Drogba trails just behind Egypt's Mohamed Salah, who has netted 69 times.

Within the top 30 lies former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane, who tallied 68 goals for the Republic of Ireland. He shares this tally with Guatemala's Carlos Ruiz and German icon Gerd Muller. Just one goal more than them are Egyptian Hossam Hassan and Uruguay’s Luis Suarez. Also close behind with 70 goals each are Stern John, Piyapong Pue-on, and Abdul Kadir.

The 23rd to 21st spots are tied at 71 goals. Germany’s Miroslav Klose is here, famous for scoring 16 World Cup goals across four tournaments from 2002 to 2014. Thai forward Kiatisuk Senamuang and Malawian Kinnah Phiri share this number.

Players Ranked 20th to 11th

This group features many names less familiar to casual fans but impressive nonetheless. Kinnah Phiri reached his 71 goals in fewer matches than Klose and Senamuang. Ahead is Bosnia & Herzegovina’s record scorer Edin Dzeko with 73 goals, one more than Saudi Arabia’s Majed Abdullah who scored 72.

Bashar Abdullah of Kuwait, Japan’s Kunishige Kamamoto, and Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis all scored 75 goals. The legendary Brazilian Pele follows with 77 strikes. Just above him is Iraq’s Hussein Saeed Mohammed, and Zambia’s Godfrey Chitalu and Brazil’s Neymar tie with 79 goals, rounding out this section.

Top 10 Goalscorers

At the summit of international scoring, England’s Harry Kane begins the top 10 with 79 goals, just below Hungarian star Ferenc Puskas who scored 84.

Robert Lewandowski sits on 88 goals for Poland, surpassing UAE’s Ali Mabkhout who has 85. Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku leads his country with 90 goals. Malaysia’s Mokhtar Dahari follows with 89.

India’s Sunil Chhetri and Iran’s Ali Daei have 95 and 108 goals respectively. Daei once held the record for most international goals until overtaken by the giants of the game: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi reached 116 goals after scoring twice in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Venezuela, holding second place. Yet, Portugal’s Ronaldo remains the all-time leader with 143 goals, continuing to add to his tally despite not scoring at Euro 2024. His quest to reach 1,000 career goals could push him into unparalleled territory.

Top 30 Men’s International Football Goalscorers

• 1. Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal - 143 goals
• 2. Lionel Messi - Argentina - 116 goals
• 3. Ali Daei - Iran - 108 goals
• 4. Sunil Chhetri - India - 95 goals
• 5. Romelu Lukaku - Belgium - 90 goals
• 6. Mokhtar Dahari - Malaysia - 89 goals
• 7. Robert Lewandowski - Poland - 88 goals
• 8. Ali Mabkhout - United Arab Emirates - 85 goals
• 9. Ferenc Puskas - Hungary - 84 goals
• 10. Harry Kane - England - 79 goals
• 11. Neymar - Brazil - 79 goals
• 12. Godfrey Chitalu - Zambia - 79 goals
• 13. Hussein Saeed Mohammed - Iraq - 78 goals
• 14. Pele - Brazil - 77 goals
• 15. Sandor Kocsis - Hungary - 75 goals
• 16. Kunishige Kamamoto - Japan - 75 goals
• 17. Bashar Abdullah - Kuwait - 75 goals
• 18. Edin Dzeko - Bosnia & Herzegovina - 73 goals
• 19. Majed Abdullah - Saudi Arabia - 72 goals
• 20. Kinnah Phiri - Malawi - 71 goals
• 21. Miroslav Klose - Germany - 71 goals
• 22. Kiatisuk Senamuang - Thailand - 71 goals
• 23. Piyapong Pue-on - Thailand - 70 goals
• 24. Abdul Kadir - Indonesia - 70 goals
• 25. Stern John - Trinidad and Tobago - 70 goals
• 26. Luis Suarez - Uruguay - 69 goals
• 27. Hossam Hassan - Egypt - 69 goals
• 28. Gerd Muller - Germany - 68 goals
• 29. Carlos Ruiz - Guatemala - 68 goals
• 30. Robbie Keane - Republic of Ireland - 68 goals

Statistics are based on multiple sources, including Transfermarkt, accurate as of December 16, 2025.