FIFA

Who Has the Most International Goals in FIFA History?

Argentine icon Lionel Messi surpassed the 100-goal mark against Curacao

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Lionel Messi's resume just keeps growing.

The Argentine football icon added yet another line to his already-deep list of accolades on Tuesday when he surpassed the 100-goal mark at the international level.

Messi logged a 36-minute hat-trick against Curacao in an international friendly that increased his goal tally to 102 and counting. The record also means he's the highest-scoring World Cup winner in international soccer after Argentina lifted the prestigious trophy in Qatar in 2022.

But Messi isn't at the summit of the most international goals in FIFA history. Let's take a look at the leaders:

Who has the most international goals in FIFA history?

The player with the most international goals in FIFA history is actually Messi's greatest rival in the sport: Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo, who recently became the most-capped player of all-time with Portugal, currently has the most international goals with 122.

Here's a look at the top 10 along with their caps:

  • Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal: 122 goals (198 caps)*
  • Ali Daei, Iran: 109 goals (148 caps)
  • Lionel Messi, Argentina: 102 goals (174 caps)*
  • Mokhtar Dahari, Malaysia: 89 goals (142 caps)
  • Suneil Chhetri, India: 85 goals (133 caps)*
  • Ference Puskas, Hungary/Spain: 84 goals (89 caps)
  • Ali Mabkhout, UAE: 80 goals (109 caps)*
  • Godfrey Chitalu, Zambia: 79 goals (111 caps)
  • Hussein Saeed, Iraq: 78 goals (137 caps)
  • Robert Lewandowski, Poland: 78 goals (140 caps)*

*Denotes active status

Right behind Saeed and Lewandowski are two Brazilian icons: Pele, who scored 77 goals in 92 caps, and Neymar, who is still active with 77 goals in 124 caps.

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