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

History

The first player to score 50 international goals was Imre Schlosser of Hungary. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Puskás overall scored 84 goals in his international career, 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. In 2004, Ali Daei of Iran broke the record after scoring his 90th goal against Lebanon.

Daei also became the first player to score over 100 goals in international football, ending his career with 108 in total. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. Malawi's Kinnah Phiri was the first player from Africa to score 50 international goals. Whilst it was originally believed that Phiri was also the youngest player to do so (having scored his 50th goal in a friendly match against Sierra Leone on 6 July 1978, aged 23 years, 8 months and 6 days), FIFA acknowledged in 2021 that the record actually belonged to Mokhtar Dahari, who was 22 years, 8 months and 30 days when he scored his 50th goal for Malaysia against India on 12 August 1976. 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.

By player

Players in bold are still active at international level.

By nationality

As of 18 January 2026 (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.

By confederation

As of 18 January 2026 (UTC)

No OFC player has scored 50 goals in full internationals. The current record holder is New Zealand player Chris Wood with 45 goals in 88 matches.

Footnotes

References

References

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54. Albakar, Naeim. "Majed Abdullah Mohammed – Century of international appearances".
55. Mamrud, Roberto. "Edin Dzeko – Century of international appearances".
56. Holstein, Dick. "Kiatisuk Senamuang – Century of international appearances".
57. Mamrud, Roberto. "Miroslav Klose – Century of International Appearances".
58. Mamrud, Roberto. "Piyapong Pue-on – Century of international appearances".
59. Mamrud, Roberto. "Abdul Kadir – Century of International Appearances".
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65. Mamrud, Roberto. "Robbie Keane – Century of international appearances".
66. "Mohamed Salah – Goals in International Matches".
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68. Mamrud, Roberto. "Teerasil Dangda – Century of international appearances".
69. Owsianski, Jarek. (2 April 2006). "Jassem Mohammed Ibrahim Al Houwaidi – International Goals".
70. Mamrud, Roberto. "Aleksandar Mitrović – Goals in international matches".
71. Luis Pierrend, José. "Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima – Goals in international matches".
72. Mubarak, Hassanin. "Ahmed Radhi Amaiesh – Century of international appearances".
73. Mamrud, Roberto. "Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Century of international appearances".
74. "Abdul Ghani Minhat – Goals in International Matches".
75. Mamrud, Roberto. "Almoez Ali Abdulla – Century of International Appearances".
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77. Mamrud, Roberto. "Imre Schlosser-Lakatos – Goals in international matches".
78. Mamrud, Roberto. "David Villa – Goals in international matches".
79. Holstein, Dick. "Ali Ashfaq – Goals in international matches".
80. Mamrud, Roberto. "Yousef Naser Al-Sulaiman - Goals in International Matches".
81. Villante, Eric. "Bum-Kun Cha – Century of international appearances".
82. Mamrud, Roberto. "Edinson Roberto Cavani – Century of international appearances".
83. Mamrud, Roberto. "Sardar Azmoun – Goals in International Matches".
84. Fernando Passo Alpuin, Luis. "Carlos Alberto Pavón – Century of international appearances".
85. Mamrud, Roberto. "Olivier Giroud – Century of international appearances".
86. Mamrud, Roberto. "Clint Dempsey – Century of international appearances".
87. Mubarak, Hassanin. "Younis Mahmoud Khalaf – Century of international appearances".
88. Mamrud, Roberto. "Landon Timothy Donovan – Century of international appearances".
89. Mamrud, Roberto. "Gabriel Omar Batistuta – Goals in international matches".
90. Mamrud, Roberto. "Mehdi Taremi – Goals in International Matches".
91. "Mehdi Taremi (Player)". National Football Teams.
92. "9 Samuel ETOO". FIFA.com.
93. "Bader Al-Mutawa (Player)". National Football Teams.
94. "Latvia vs. Kuwait – International Friendly 2022".
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96. Mamrud, Roberto. "Romário de Souza Faria – Goals in international matches".
97. Mamrud, Roberto. "Kazuyoshi "Kazu" Miura – Goals in international matches".
98. Mamrud, Roberto. "Jan Koller – international appearances".
99. Mamrud, Roberto. "Iswadi Idris – Goals in International Matches".
100. Morrison, Neil. "Fandi Ahmad – Century of international appearances".
101. Arnhold, Matthias. "Joachim Streich – Century of international appearances".
102. Stokkermans, Karel. "Memphis Depay - Goals in International Matches".
103. Mamrud, Roberto. "Wayne Mark Rooney – Century of International Appearances".
104. Mamrud, Roberto. "Sadio Mané - Century of International Appearances".
105. Mamrud, Roberto. "Philip James "Phil" Placer Younghusband – Century of international appearances".
106. Mamrud, Roberto. "Javier "Chicharito" Hernández – Century of international appearances".
107. Mamrud, Roberto. "Jon Dahl Tomasson – Century of international appearances".
108. Ibrahim Alzaabi, Rashid. "Adnan Khamees Al-Talyani – Century of international appearances".
109. Mamrud, Roberto. "Lájos Tichy – Goals in international matches".
110. Földesi, László. "Lê Công Vinh – Goals in international matches".
111. Mamrud, Roberto. "Asamoah Gyan – Century of International Appearances".
112. Mamrud, Roberto. "Hakan Sükür – Century of international appearances".
113. Mamrud, Roberto. "Thierry Henry – Century of international appearances".
114. Mamrud, Roberto. "Alexis Alejandro Sánchez – Century of International Appearances".
115. Mamrud, Roberto. "Karim Bagheri – Goals in international matches".
116. Stokkermans, Karel. "Robin van Persie – Century of international appearances".
117. Lee, Seungsoo. "Hwang Seon-Hong – Century of international appearances".
118. (25 March 2005). "Australia gets AFC nod to join Asian soccer group". China Daily.
119. (8 July 2017). "Australia at the AFC Asian Cup: A Look Back". AFC.
120. (30 March 2004). "Australia 1–0 South Africa". [[BBC Sport]].
121. (17 July 2018). "Tim Cahill retires from international football". [[Associated Press]].
122. Mamrud, Roberto. "Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill – Century of international appearances".
123. Mamrud, Roberto. "Shinji Okazaki – Century of international appearances".
124. "Zainal Abidin Hassan – Century of International Appearances".
125. (21 March 2025). "Christopher Grant Wood - Goals in International Matches".