Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a staggering 117 international goals for Portugal. Who else is among leading goalscorers?
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Cristiano Ronaldo became the first European to reach 100 international goals during the autumn of 2020 – and is now well out in front as both Europe’s and the world’s all-time leading scorer.
Ronaldo had overtaken Ferenc Puskás’s European record of 84 national-team goals while starring for Portugal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He later achieved his century with a free-kick against Sweden in Solna on 8 September 2020.
By netting twice at the climax of Portugal’s European Qualifier with Republic of Ireland on 1 September 2021, he established a new world record for international goals – having been sat on 109 together with previous record-holder and ex-Iran forward Ali Daei since UEFA EURO 2020. Ronaldo has since taken his total to 117 strikes.
Top five all-time international goalscorers
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)* – 117 in 190 appearances
2. Ali Daei (Iran) – 109 goals in 148
3. Mokhtar Dahari (Malaysia) – 89 in 142
4. Lionel Messi (Argentina)* – 88 in 163
5. Ferenc Puskás (Hungary & Spain) – 84 in 89
5. Sunil Chhetri (India)* – 84 in 130
Europe’s all-time top international goalscorers
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)* – 117 goals in 190 appearances
Ferenc Puskás (Hungary & Spain) – 84 in 89
Robert Lewandowski (Poland)* – 76 in 134
Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) – 75 in 68
Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 71 in 137
Gerd Müller (West Germany) – 68 in 62
Robbie Keane (Republic of Ireland) – 68 in 146
Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)* – 68 in 102
Edin Džeko (Bosnia and Herzegovina)* – 64 in 126
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden)* – 62 in 121
Imre Schlosser (Hungary) – 59 in 68
David Villa (Spain) – 59 in 98
Jan Koller (Czech Republic) – 55 in 91
Joachim Streich (East Germany) – 55 in 102
Wayne Rooney (England) – 53 in 120
Poul Nielsen (Denmark) – 52 in 38
Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark) – 52 in 112
Thierry Henry (France) – 51 in 123
Hakan Sükür (Türkiye) – 51 in 112
Lajos Tichy (Hungary) – 51 in 72
Harry Kane (England)* – 51 in 75
Robin van Persie (Netherlands) – 50 in 102
Aleksandar Mitrović (Serbia)* – 49 in 75
Ronaldo’s international goals analysed
Home or away?
Fifty-six of Ronaldo’s strikes have come at home (including the five he scored at UEFA EURO 2004 and the 2019 UEFA Nations League finals in Portugal), 33 away and 28 on neutral territory.
Win, lose or draw?
Ronaldo has scored in 76 games, with Portugal going on to win 63 of them. They have drawn six and lost seven.
One, two, three, four…
Ronaldo has hit ten hat-tricks, including two four-goal salvos. There have been 19 doubles, with the remaining 47 goals coming in single file.
Favourite opponents
Ronaldo’s treble against Luxembourg in October 2021 raised his tally against the Grand Duchy to nine goals. He has struck seven times, meanwhile, against both Lithuania and Sweden. Other teams to have suffered at his feet or head are Andorra, Hungary (six goals conceded), Switzerland, Armenia and Latvia (five each). At UEFA EURO 2020, he opened his accounts against Germany and France; however, he has never struck against Italy or England.
Cristiano Ronaldo key records
Top scorer in UEFA European Championship, including qualifiers: 45
Top scorer in UEFA European Championship final tournaments: 14
Scored in most UEFA European Championship final tournaments: 5
All-time top scorer in international matches: 117
Most goals scored by a European in competitive internationals: 97
Most goals scored in European FIFA World Cup qualifying: 34
First goal in a UEFA Nations League Finals: vs Switzerland (semi-finals, 05/06/2019, Porto) – and first hat-trick
