Cristiano Ronaldo, despite not earning a major honour with Portugal, will be remembered as the greatest goalscorer in international football history. Since debuting for his country in 2003 under Luiz Felipe Scolari, the in-front-of-goal nuisance has honed his goal-scoring skills to perfection.
After 225 matches for Portugal, he has scored a staggering 143 goals. However, unlike others, the 40-year-old did not experience a rapid onset. Erling Haaland, for example, has been a goal-scoring sensation for Norway since his debut in 2019.
Using numbers given by Transfermarkt, we’re here to take a deeper look at some of the finest goalscorers in international football history – but there’s a twist. Instead of analysing players throughout their careers, the search has been focused to how long it took them to score 50 goals for their respective countries.
Spoiler alert: neither Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi, probably the two greatest football players of all time, appear because they took longer to adjust to international competition.
Notable Omissions: Messi and Ronaldo
Let us start with some conspicuous omissions: As previously said, Messi and Ronaldo are two of the most notable absentees from the top 10. Argentina took 107 games, while Portugal took 114. Wayne Rooney, England’s star, had also hit 50 goals by the time he made his 107th appearance for the Three Lions.
Many people believe that because Neymar Jr. is Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer and was so compelling from a young age, he would have scored a lot of goals for Brazil early on in his career. That is far from the reality, as the now-33-year-old scored 50 goals in 74 games, trailing in tenth place.
Kylian Mbappe followed in Neymar’s footsteps, but for France instead. Given so much goal-scoring duty at such a young age, the talismanic forward has scored at an alarming rate for both club and country. He has 53 goals in 93 caps for Les Bleus, with the first 50 coming in 90 matches.
10Harry Kane, England – 71 games
England has been fortunate with some amazing goal scorers throughout the years. Wayne Rooney, Sir Bobby Charlton, Gary Lineker, and others come to mind, although none of the aforementioned three strike as frequently as Harry Kane, who currently earns his money in Germany for Bayern Munich. In fact, the former Tottenham Hotspur fan favourite is the Three Lions’ all-time leading goalscorer.
What works in the London-born striker’s benefit is his ability to score in every situation: whether the ball is played precisely or not, he has the technical genius to create a shooting opportunity. Many consider Kane to be one of the most complete centre-forwards of all time, owing to his well-rounded skill set.
9Ali Daei, Iran – 69 games
Ali Daei, widely recognised as one of the finest Asian players to grace what we call the beautiful game, earned the label ‘Iranian Maradona’ for a reason. He held the record for the most international goals of all time when Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed him with 108 in 2021, followed by Lionel Messi; nonetheless, he is one of just three players to reach 100 goals on the international stage.
His first 50 goals came 69 games into his long, goal-laden career with Iran. Daei, now 56 years old but widely remembered for his tenacity in the box for club and country, began his club career in Asia before moving to Germany in 1997 to join Arminia Bielefeld before transferring to Bayern Munich.
8Lajos Tichy, Hungary – 68 games
Lajos Tichy (on the right in the above image) was regarded as one of the best finishers of his time, as indicated by his inclusion on this list. Born in Budapest, the 1935-born centre-forward made his Hungary debut at the age of 20 in 1955, scoring 51 goals in 72 appearances.
Only one of those came in the remaining four games, as Tichy scored 50 goals in his 68th appearance for Hungary. Of course, that’s an excellent rate for a striker who frequently goes unnoticed when discussing his country’s top goalscorers; he also found the back of the net with ease at club level, despite spending much of his career in his homeland’s top division.
7Romario, Brazil – 65 games
Romario was a top-tier finisher throughout his career, from his early days at boyhood club Vasco de Gama to his free-scoring years at PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Flamengo, and others. This concept can also be extended to his worldwide career, which began in 1987 and ended in 2005.
Despite competing with Ronaldo Nazario in the latter years of his international career, Romario was a prominent role for Brazil, as indicated by the prolific pace at which he scored goals. In fact, in 2000, he scored seven goals in two games, and it only took him 65 games to accomplish 50 goals for his country.
6Imre Schlosser, Hungary – 50 games
Imre Schlosser, the second of three Hungarian talismans to participate, scored one goal every international match and, as expected, surpassed the 50-goal milestone on his 50th appearance. Incredibly, he was the first man to achieve 50 international goals after reaching that milestone in 1917, but his Hungary career ended just before he reached 60.
Overall, Schlosser was born during a time when Hungarian strikers were in high demand, and his 59 goals in 68 appearances for his country demonstrate that he is deserving of mention in such conversations. Schlosser, a seven-time Hungarian league top goalscorer, was clearly eager to get into scoring opportunities at club level as well.
5Pele, Brazil – 49 games
Pele, a man who requires no introduction, holds numerous records – but not here, as he has reached the half-century mark in 49 matches. Brazil, a five-time World Cup champion, has produced a wide range of football talent throughout the years, but none of them can match the goalscoring prowess of the hero in the spotlight; Ronaldo Nazario, on the other hand, comes in a close second.
Pele, more of an artist than a player, developed a penchant for beating defenders with relative ease during his heyday, and, while his total goalscoring record is questionable, his wild nature in the final third is undeniable. After all, the late world-beater is largely regarded as one of the best footballers of all time, and with good cause.
4Erling Haaland, Norway – 46 games
Erling Haaland, the most recent addition to this star-studded list, may be Norway’s best goalscorer, but three other players in football history have scored 50 goals in fewer games. When the lanky striker is at his height, his instinctual nature usually results in goals from the left, right, and centre. Even when he isn’t, you can count on him to fill the net.
In a nutshell, Haaland is by far one of his generation’s greatest natural-born goal scorers, and many records will be shattered by the time he retires. Ali Daei, who scored his 100th goal for Iran on his 131st cap, is the quickest player to achieve the century mark; but, when, rather than if, he will surpass the Iranian?
3Gerd Muller, Germany – 41 games
Gerd Muller, one of football history’s most prolific goal scorers, was a true sharpshooter. Whether it was a tap-in, a well-worked strike, or a header, you could almost always count on him – called Der Bomber – to score, whether for club or country. Few athletes can match the stats he put up season after season.
Remarkably, the 1970 Ballon d’Or winner finished his international career with more goals than matches played (68 in 62), and he achieved a historic moment for West Germany in 1972. Gerd has always been a fixture in German football circles, but his impressive goal scoring record does not do him justice. For this list, he scored 50 goals in only 41 games.
2Sandor Kocsis, Hungary – 40 games
Sandor Kocsis, like Muller, finished his stint as Hungary’s go-to top scorer with more goals than matches – 75 in 68. Let it sink in for a moment: the Barcelona star scored 1.10 goals per game! Kocsis played a pivotal role in Hungary’s most productive time in football history.
Kocsis, who was born and reared in Budapest, is adored by people who are knowledgeable about Hungarian football history, although he is hardly mentioned in casual conversations. However, others argue that he was as powerful as his countryman Ferenc Puskas, and the statistics support this claim.
1Poul Nielsen, Denmark – 36 games
Poul Nielsen, who headed the line for Denmark from 1910 until 1924, rounded out the list as one of the most devastating frontmen in international football history. Many consider his half-century strike rate in 36 matches, which amounts to a goal per 68 minutes, to be unbreakable or unattainable.
Nielsen, born in the Danish city of Copenhagen in 1891, is rarely remembered in folklore – but his legacy lives on decades after his death, all while keeping the Danish national team’s flag flying high. Because the centre-forward’s career for Denmark spans the early years of international football, he never competed in a World Cup; yet, his ability to score goals is undeniable.
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