Cristiano Ronaldo: All-time leading scorer in men's international football
Sunday, 18 December 2022
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Cristiano Ronaldo holds the world record for international goals, scoring 118 for Portugal since making his debut in 2003.
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How many goals has Ronaldo scored for Portugal?
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a world record 118 goals since making his Portugal debut in 2003. He is also the joint all-time leading appearance maker in men's international football having played 196 games, a record he shares with Kuwait's Bader Al-Mutawa.
When did Ronaldo break the international goals record?
Ronaldo broke the world record for international goals when he scored twice against Republic of Ireland in Portugal's European Qualifier in Faro-Loulé on 1 September 2021, aged 36. He surpassed the existing world-record mark set by former Iran forward Ali Daei – the only other man to have claimed a century of international goals.
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Has Ronaldo scored every year since making his Portugal debut?
Ronaldo didn't score in his first two appearances, in 2003, but has since registered for 19 years running, including 2022. That is good enough for a share of the world record alongside Robbie Keane, who struck every year for the Republic of Ireland between 1998 and 2016.
Leading international scorers
118 Cristiano Ronaldo* (Portugal) – 196 appearances
109 Ali Daei (Iran) – 148 appearances
98 Lionel Messi* (Argentina) – 172 appearances
89 Mokhtar Dahari (Malaysia) – 142 appearances
84 Ferenc Puskás (Hungary) – 89 appearances
84 Sunil Chhetri* (India) – 131 appearances
80 Ali Mabkhout* (United Arab Emirates) – 109 appearances
79 Godfrey Chitalu (Zambia) – 111 appearances
78 Hussein Saeed (Iraq) – 137 appearances
78 Robert Lewandowski* (Poland) – 138 appearances
77 Pelé (Brazil) – 92 appearances
75 Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) – 68 appearances
75 Kunishige Kamamoto (Japan) – 76 appearances
75 Bashar Abdullah (Kuwait) – 134 appearances
*still active
Data correct as of 18 December 2022