(N.B. more detailed data on players are available from the alphabetic index.)
1.Mohamed Al-Deayea [Saudi Arabia] 178 (1993-2006) [i]
Claudio Suárez [Mexico] 178 (1992-2006)
3.Ahmed Hassan [Egypt] 175* (1996-2010)
4.Hossam Hassan [Egypt] 169 (1985-2006)
5.Vitalijs Astafjevs [Latvia] 167* (1992-2010)
Iván Hurtado [Ecuador] 167* (1992-2010)
7.Cobi Jones [USA] 164* (1992-2004)
Adnan Kh. Al-Talyani [UAE] 164 (1984-1997)
9.Sami Al-Jaber [Saudi Arabia] 158* (1992-2006)
10.Martin Reim [Estonia] 157* (1992-2009)
11.Lothar Matthäus [(West) Germany] 150 (1980-2000)
12.Ali Daei [Iran] 149* (1993-2006)
13.Pavel Pardo [Mexico] 146* (1996-2009)
14.Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi [Saudi Arabia] 143 (1990-2001)
Marko Kristal [Estonia] 143 (1992-2005)
Thomas Ravelli [Sweden] 143 (1981-1997)
17.Cafu [Brazil] 142* (1990-2006)
Lilian Thuram [France] 142 (1994-2008)
19.Javier Zanetti [Argentina] 140* (1994-2011)
20.Majed Abdullah [Saudi Arabia] 139 (1978-1994) [a]
21.Walter Centeno [Costa Rica] 137* (1995-2009)
Amado Guevara [Honduras] 137* (1994-2010)
Jari Litmanen [Finland] 137* (1989-2010)
Rigobert Song [Cameroon] 137* (1993-2010)
25.Fabio Cannavaro [Italy] 136* (1997-2010)
Myung-Bo Hong [South Korea] 136 (1990-2002)
27.Bashar Abdullah [Kuwait] 134* (1996-2007)
Jeff Agoos [USA] 134* (1988-2003)
Dorinel Munteanu [Romania] 134* (1991-2007)
30.Woon-Jae Lee [South Korea] 133* (1994-2010)
31.Jorge Campos [Mexico] 130* (1991-2003)
Landon Donovan [USA] 130* (2000-2011)
Kiatisuk Senamuang [Thailand] 130* (1993-2007)
Edwin van der Sar [Netherlands] 130* (1995-2008)
35.Peter Schmeichel [Denmark] 129* (1987-2001)
36.Marcelo Balboa [USA] 128* (1988-2000)
Luis Antonio Marin [Costa Rica] 128* (1993-2009)
38.Luis Figo [Portugal] 127* (1991-2006)
Roberto Palacios [Peru] 127* (1992-2009)
40.Lee Young-Pyo [South Korea] 126* (1999-2011)
Paolo Maldini [Italy] 126* (1988-2002) [d]
Hussain Saeed Mohammed [Iraq] 126 (1977-1990)
Andoni Zubizarreta [Spain] 126 (1985-1998)
44.Ibrahim Hassan [Egypt] 125 (1988-2002)
Hany Ramzy [Egypt] 125 (1989-2003)
Roberto Carlos [Brazil] 125* (1992-2006)
Peter Shilton [England] 125 (1970-1990)
48.Essam El-Hadary [Egypt] 124* (1996-2011)
Gheorghe Hagi [Romania] 124 (1983-2000)
Gerardo Torrado [Mexico] 124* (1999-2011)
51.Thierry Henry [France] 123* (1997-2010)
Sang-Chul Yoo [South Korea] 123 (1994-2005)
53.Masami Ihara [Japan] 122 (1988-1999)
Abdullah Zubromawi [Saudi Arabia] 122 (1993-2002)
55.Gilbert Agius [Malta] 121* (1993-2009)
David Carabott [Malta] 121* (1987-2005)
Bum-Kun Cha [South Korea] 121 (1972-1986)
Aide Iskandar [Singapore] 121* (1995-2007)
Andres Oper [Estonia] 121* (1995-2011)
Ramón Ramírez [Mexico] 121* (1991-2000)
61.Ian Goodison [Jamaica] 120* (1996-2009)
Mart Poom [Estonia] 120* (1991-2009)
Theodoros Zagorakis [Greece] 120* (1994-2007)
64.Cuauhtémoc Blanco [Mexico] 119* (1995-2010)
Iker Casillas [Spain] 119* (2000-2011)
Pat Jennings [Northern Ireland] 119 (1964-1986)
Rüstü Reçber [Turkey] 119* (1994-2009)
68.Geremi Fotso Njitap [Cameroon] 118* (1996-2010)
Karel Poborský [Czech Republic] 118* (1994-2006)
70.Angus Eve [Trinidad/Tobago] 117* (1994-2005)
Heinz Hermann [Switzerland] 117 (1978-1991)
Sarkis Hovsepyan [Armenia] 117* (1992-2011)
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi [Japan] 117* (1997-2009)
74.Marcel Desailly [France] 116 (1993-2004) [d]
Abdul Rahem Jumaa [UAE] 116* (1998-2009)
Roland Nilsson [Sweden] 116 (1986-2000)
77.Roberto Fabián Ayala [Argentina] 115* (1994-2007)
David Beckham [England] 115* (1996-2009)
Noureddine Naybet [Morocco] 115* (1990-2006)
Björn Nordqvist [Sweden] 115 (1963-1978)
Gheorghe Popescu [Romania] 115 (1988-2003)
Andrejs Rubins [Latvia] 115* (1998-2011)
Shunmugham Subramani [Singapore] 115* (1996-2007)
84.Anders Svensson [Sweden] 114* (1999-2011)
Kristen Viikmäe [Estonia] 114* (1997-2009)
86.Rolando Fonseca [Costa Rica] 113* (1992-2011)
Viktor Onopko [Russia/C.I.S.] 113* (1992-2004) [e]
Theodore Whitmore [Jamaica] 113* (1993-2004)
89.Zuhair Bakhit Bilal [UAE] 112 (1988-2002)
Frank de Boer [Netherlands] 112* (1990-2004)
Alain Geiger [Switzerland] 112 (1980-1996)
Abdul Salam Jumaa [UAE] 112* (1997-2010)
Ali Mohammed Karimi [Iran] 112* (1998-2010)
Javad Nekounam [Iran] 112* (2000-2011)
Claudio Reyna [USA] 112* (1994-2006)
Abdel Zaher El-Saqua [Egypt] 112* (1997-2010)
Hakan Sükür [Turkey] 112* (1992-2007)
Jon Dahl Tomasson [Denmark] 112* (1997-2010)
Dino Zoff [Italy] 112 (1968-1983) [d]
100.Carmel Busuttil [Malta] 111 (1982-2001)
Mehdi Mahdavikia [Iran] 111* (1996-2009)
Carlos Valderrama [Colombia] 111* (1985-1998)
103.Paul Caligiuri [USA] 110* (1984-1997)
Fernando Couto [Portugal] 110* (1990-2004)
Carlos Gamarra [Paraguay] 110* (1993-2006)
Shay Given [Ireland] 110* (1996-2011)
Yuji Nakazawa [Japan] 110* (1999-2010)
José Manuel Rey [Venezuela] 110* (1997-2010)
Nader El-Sayed [Egypt] 110 (1992-2005)
Nohair Al-Shammari [Kuwait] 110* (1996-2008)
Mauricio Solis Mora [Costa Rica] 110* (1993-2006)
112.Alex Aguinaga [Ecuador] 109* (1987-2004)
Niclas Alexandersson [Sweden] 109* (1993-2008)
Alberto García Aspe [Mexico] 109 (1988-2002)
Hao Haidong [China] 109* (1992-2004)
Stern John [Trinidad/Tobago] 109* (1995-2009)
Kevin Kilbane [Ireland] 109* (1997-2011)
Wail Sulaiman Al-Habashi [Kuwait] 109 (1986-1997)
119.Jürgen Klinsmann [(West) Germany] 108 (1987-1998)
Miroslav Klose [Germany] 108* (2001-2011)
Juris Laizans [Latvia] 108* (1998-2010)
Bobby Moore [England] 108 (1962-1973) [d]
Jamal Abdulrahman Mubarak [Kuwait] 108* (1994-2004)
Indra Sahdan bin Daud [Singapore] 108* (1997-2010)
Hussein O.A. Sulimani [Saudi Arabia] 108* (1996-2009)
Zinedine Zidane [France] 108 (1994-2006)
127.Thomas Helveg [Denmark] 107* (1994-2007)
Aaron Mokoena [South Africa] 107* (1999-2010)
Dennis Rommedahl [Denmark] 107* (2000-2011)
Patrick Vieira [France] 107* (1997-2009)
131.Imants Bleidelis [Latvia] 106* (1995-2007)
Bobby Charlton [England] 106 (1958-1970) [d]
Yasuhito Endo [Japan] 106* (2002-2011)
Fan Zhiyi [China] 106 (1992-2002)
Henrik Larsson [Sweden] 106* (1993-2009)
Li Weifeng [China] 106* (1998-2011)
Diego Pablo Simeone [Argentina] 106 (1988-2002)
Giovanni van Bronckhorst [Netherlands] 106* (1996-2010)
Eric Wynalda [USA] 106* (1990-2000)
140.Héctor Chumpitaz [Peru] 105 (1965-1981)
Sami Hyypiä [Finland] 105* (1992-2010)
Jonatan Johansson [Finland] 105* (1996-2010)
Giorgios Karagounis [Greece] 105* (1999-2011)
Robbie Keane [Ireland] 105* (1998-2011)
Jürgen Kohler [(West) Germany] 105 (1986-1998)
Olof Mellberg [Sweden] 105* (2000-2011)
Mohsen Mosabeh Faraj [UAE] 105 (1988-1999)
Billy Wright [England] 105 (1946-1959) [d]
149.Gianluigi Buffon [Italy] 104* (1997-2011)
Kim Tae-Yeong [South Korea] 104 (1992-2004)
Michael Laudrup [Denmark] 104 (1982-1998)
Thorbjørn Svenssen [Norway] 104 (1947-1962)
Anatoliy Tymoschuk [Ukraine] 104* (2000-2011)
Mihails Zemlinskis [Latvia] 104* (1992-2005)
155.Franz Beckenbauer [West Germany] 103 (1965-1977)
Stéphane Chapuisat [Switzerland] 103* (1988-2004)
Didier Deschamps [France] 103 (1989-2000) [d]
Samuel Eto'o Fils [Cameroon] 103* (1997-2011)
Andreas Herzog [Austria] 103 (1988-2003)
Seon-Hong Hwang [South Korea] 103 (1993-2002)
Odelin Molina [Cuba] 103* (1996-2011)
Indrek Zelinski [Estonia] 103* (1994-2010)
163.Ladislau Bölöni [Romania] 102 (1975-1988) [c]
Joe Brincat [Malta] 102* (1988-2004)
Kenny Dalglish [Scotland] 102 (1971-1986)
Martin Jørgensen [Denmark] 102* (1997-2011)
Miroslav Karhan [Slovakia] 102* (1995-2011)
Kasey Keller [USA] 102* (1990-2007)
Bülent Korkmaz [Turkey] 102* (1990-2005)
Yenier Márquez [Cuba] 102* (2000-2011)
Borislav Mikhailov [Bulgaria] 102 (1983-1998) [f]
Savo Milosevic [Yugoslavia/S.-M.] 102* (1994-2008)
Bader Ahmed Al-Mutawa [Kuwait] 102* (2003-2011)
Morten Olsen [Denmark] 102 (1970-1989)
Raúl [Spain] 102* (1996-2006)
Steve Staunton [Ireland] 102 (1988-2002)
Michal Zewlawkow [Poland] 102* (1999-2011)
178.Fandi Ahmad [Singapore] 101 (1979-1997)
Leonel de Jesús Alvarez [Colombia] 101 (1985-1997)
Marvin Andrews [Trinidad/Tobago] 101* (1996-2009)
Oleg Blokhin [Soviet Union] 101 (1972-1988) [c]
József Bozsik [Hungary] 101 (1947-1962) [h]
Phillip Cocu [Netherlands] 101* (1996-2006)
Ulises de la Cruz [Ecuador] 101* (1995-2010)
Thomas Häßler [(West) Germany] 101 (1988-2000)
Radhi Jaidi [Tunisia] 101* (1996-2009)
Rúnar Kristinsson [Iceland] 101* (1987-2004) [g]
Stilian Petrov [Bulgaria] 101* (1998-2011)
Raio Piiroja [Estonia] 101* (1998-2011)
Guillermo Ramirez [Guatemala] 101* (1997-2011)
Jorge Soto [Peru] 101* (1992-2005)
Earnie Stewart [USA] 101* (1990-2004)
Claudio Taffarel [Brazil] 101 (1988-1998)
Harold Wallace [Costa Rica] 101* (1995-2009)
"Xavi" [Spain] 101* (2000-2011)
195.Angelos Basinas [Greece] 100* (1999-2009)
Henning Berg [Norway] 100 (1992-2004)
Denis Ramón Caniza [Paraguay] 100* (1996-2010)
Luis Enrique Capurro [Ecuador] 100* (1985-2003)
Wael Goma'a [Egypt] 100* (2001-2011)
Ari Hjelm [Finland] 100 (1983-1996)
Ulf Kirsten [(East) Germany] 100 (1985-2000) [b]
Rafael Márquez [Mexico] 100* (1997-2011)
Tony Meola [USA] 100* (1988-2006)
Joe-Max Moore [USA] 100 (1992-2002)
Mohd Nazri Bin Nasir [Singapore] 100 (1990-2004)
Yiannakis Okkas [Cyprus] 100* (1997-2011)
Ji-Sung Park [South Korea] 100* (2000-2011)
Carlos Alberto Pavón [Honduras] 100* (1993-2010)
Goce Sedloski [Macedonia] 100* (1996-2010)
Andriy Shevchenko [Ukraine] 100* (1995-2010)
Dario Simic [Croatia] 100* (1996-2008)
Players whose country is italicized are national record holders.
Players marked with * are still active.
Notes:
[a] Abdullah was earlier reported as having 147 caps, but investigations of
IFFHS discovered 4 matches which were not played and 1 against an Irish
League XI; 2 more matches were deleted from the records following FIFA's
decision not to recognize Olympic matches (see below);
one more involved non-FIFA members Northern Cyprus.
[b] Kirsten played 49 matches for East Germany and 51 for (unified) Germany.
[c] several players had Olympic matches deleted from their records;
Bölöni lost 2 additional matches (vs. Hungary B and Ecuador U-23) in 2007 after the
Romanian FA revised the list of internaitonal matches.
[d] several players had matches against FIFA or continental representations
deducted - or not, see below. Zoff's total also includes a match against a
US select team comprising mainly of aging foreigners which the Italian FA
insist is official.
[e] Onopko played 4 matches for the C.I.S. and 109 for Russia.
[f] Mikhailov's total includes 4 matches against Olympic teams which are
official according to the Bulgarian FA though not according to FIFA pratice.
[g] Kristinsson has played 104 matches according to the Icelandic federation,
which however includes 3 Olympic qualifiers not considered official according to FIFA
practice; however, FIFA do accept a match against England B in 1991.
[h] Bozsik had a match vs Lebanon played in 1956 recognised as official by
the Hungarian FA in May 2002 (!).
[i] Al-Deayea was earlier listed with 181 caps, but 3 matches at the Asian
Games 1990 were played by his namesake Abdullah Al-Deayea.
Daniel Bennett [Singapore] 99* (2002-2010)
Henri Camara [Senegal] 99* (1999-2008)
Mario Frick [Liechtenstein] 99* (1993-2011)
Igors N. Stepanovs [Latvia] 99* (1995-2008)
Michael Ballack [Germany] 98* (1999-2010)
Djalma dos Santos [Brazil] 98 (1952-1968)
Joonas Kolkka [Finland] 98* (1994-2010)
Shunsuke Nakamura [Japan] 98* (2000-2010)
Oswaldo Sánchez [Mexico] 98* (1996-2009)
Jeff Strasser [Luxembourg] 98* (1993-2010)
Joachim Streich [East Germany] 98 (1969-1984) [c]
Gianluca Zambrotta [Italy] 98* (1999-2010)
Robert Acuna [Paraguay] 97* (1993-2006)
Laurent Blanc [France] 97 (1989-2000) [d]
Juan Jayo [Peru] 97* (1994-2008)
Nam-Il Kim [South Korea] 97* (2000-2010)
Bixente Lizarazu [France] 97 (1992-2004)
"Lúcio" [Brazil] 97* (2000-2011)
Ronaldo [Brazil] 97* (1994-2006)
Oscar Alfredo Ruggeri [Argentina] 97 (1983-1994)
Erik Thorstvedt [Norway] 97 (1982-1996)
Andy Williams [Jamaica] 97* (1997-2008)
Patrik Andersson [Sweden] 96 (1991-2002)
Jacek Bak [Poland] 96* (1993-2008)
Hristo Bonev [Bulgaria] 96 (1967-1979) [14]
Jan Ceulemans [Belgium] 96 (1977-1991)
Linval Dixon [Jamaica] 96* (1993-2003)
Hans-Jürgen Dörner [East Germany] 96 (1969-1985) [c]
Ricardo Gardner [Jamaica] 96* (1997-2009)
Waleed Ali H. Jumah [Kuwait] 96 (2002-2011)
Levan Kobiashvili [Georgia] 96* (1996-2011)
Jacek Krzynowek [Poland] 96* (1998-2009)
Alexi Lalas [USA] 96 (1990-1998)
Dejan Stankovic [Serbia] 96* (1998-2011)
Hans-Hubert Vogts [West Germany] 96 (1967-1978)
Efstratos Apostolakis [Greece] 95 (1986-1998)
John Buttigieg [Malta] 95 (1984-2000)
Soon-Ho Choi [South Korea] 95 (1980-1991)
Seok-Joo Ha [South Korea] 95 (1991-2001)
Grzegorz Lato [Poland] 95 (1966-1979) [c]
Josef Maier [West Germany] 95 (1966-1979)
Brian McBride [USA] 95 (1993-2006)
Dan Petrescu [Romania] 95 (1989-2000)
Toni Polster [Austria] 95 (1982-2000)
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge [West Germany] 95 (1976-1986)
Nolberto Solano [Peru] 95* (1994-2009)
Players whose country is italicized are national record holders.
Players marked with * are still active.
FIFA decided in 1999 that while all Olympic matches from 1908-1952 (bar those involving Great Britain or countries with a professional league who sent amateur squads, e.g. Austria in 1936) are full internationals, all matches since the sixties are not at all recognised, while for the intermediate part additional analysis will be made. Ten years later, no such analysis appears to have been forthcoming. Most Eastern European and Scandinavian FAs (to whom the issue is most relevant) have ignored the ruling, and the relevant countries have the totals as recognised by the responsible FAs included in the list, with the exception of a few which will be looked at later.
The following players were affected:
Majed Abdullah [Saudi Arabia] 140 (was 142; minus 2 matches)
Ladislau Bölöni [Romania] 104 (was 108; minus 4 matches)
Oleg Blokhin [Soviet Union] 101 (was 112; minus 11 matches)
Joachim Streich [East Germany] 98 (was 102; minus 4 matches)
Hans-Jürgen Dörner [East Germany] 96 (was 100; minus 4 matches)
Grzegorz Lato [Poland] 95 (was 100; minus 5 matches)
FIFA and Continental Representations
In January 2001, FIFA deleted all matches against FIFA XI's or continental representations. However, most FAs (including those of Brazil, England, France and Italy) did not follow this ruling and keep the relevant matches in their records.
The above list therefore ignores this FIFA ruling.
According to national FA's information, the following players also have a century of appearances for their country:
Sadok Sassi "Attouga" [Tunisia] 110
Tarak Dhiab [Tunisia] 107
Note: record holders with 95+ caps can be found above.
Altin Lala [Albania] 73*
Foto Strakosha [Albania] 73
Oscar Sonejee [Andorra] 87*
Aslan Kerimov [Azerbaijan] 75*
Zvjezdan Misimovic [Bosnia-Herzegovina] 56*
Mark Schwarzer [Australia] 89*
Alexandr Kulchiy [Belarus] 89*
Luis Héctor Cristaldo [Bolivia] 93
Marco Antonio Sandy [Bolivia] 93
Paul Stalteri [Canada] 84
Leonel Sánchez [Chile] 84
Óli Johannesen [Faroe Islands] 83*
Kurniawan Dwi Julianto[Indonesia] 60*
Arik Benado [Israel] 94*
Ruslan Baltiyev [Kazakhstan] 73*
Vyacheslav Amin [Kyrgyzstan] 36*
Andrius Skerla [Lithuania] 81*
Radu Rebeja [Moldova] 74*
Ivan Vicelich [New Zealand] 72*
Nwankwo Kanu [Nigeria] 87* [i]
Damiano Vannucci [San Marino] 59*
Zlatko Zahovic [Slovenia] 80*
Errion Charles [Turks and Caicos] 7*
Duan Clinton [Turks and Caicos] 7*
Charles Cook [Turks and Caicos] 7*
Rodolfo Rodríguez [Uruguay] 78
Timur Kapadze [Uzbekistan] 81*
Neville Southall [Wales] 92
[i] Mudashiru Lawal played 86 matches for Nigeria and was considered record
holder before, but his total includes more than 13 unofficial matches.
Players marked with * are still active.
(N.B. more detailed data on players with 40+ goals are available from the alphabetic index.)
1.Ali Daei [Iran] 109*(149) (1993-2006) [15]
2.Ferenc Puskás [Hungary/Spain] 84 ( 89) (1945-1956) [1]
3."Pelé" [Brazil] 77 ( 92) (1957-1971) [9]
4.Bashar Abdullah [Kuwait] 75*(134) (1996-2007)
Sándor Kocsis [Hungary] 75 ( 68) (1948-1956)
-.Vivian John Woodward [England/England Am] 73 ( 53) (1903-1914) [2]
6.Hossam Hassan [Egypt] 69 (169) (1985-2006)
Stern John [Trinidad/Tobago] 69*(109) (1995-2009)
8.Gerd Müller [West Germany] 68 ( 62) (1966-1974)
9.Majed Abdullah [Saudi Arabia] 67 (139) (1978-1994) [3]
10.Kiatisuk Senamuang [Thailand] 65*(130) (1993-2007)
11.Jassem Al-Houwaidi [Kuwait] 63*( 74) (1992-2002)
12.Ronaldo [Brazil] 62*( 97) (1994-2006)
13.Miroslav Klose [Germany] 61*(108) (2001-2011)
Hussain Saeed Mohammed [Iraq] 61 (126) (1977-1990)
14.Imre Schlosser [Hungary] 59 ( 68) (1906-1927)
16.Gabriel Batistuta [Argentina] 56 ( 78) (1991-2002)
Carlos Alberto Pavón [Honduras] 56*(100) (1993-2010)
18.Bum-Kun Cha [South Korea] 55 (121) (1972-1986)
Kunishige Kamamoto [Japan] 55 ( 61) (1964-1977) [8]
Jan Koller [Czech Republic] 55*( 91) (1999-2009)
Kazuyoshi Miura [Japan] 55 ( 89) (1990-2000)
Romário [Brazil] 55 ( 70) (1987-2005)
23.Joachim Streich [East Germany] 53 ( 98) (1969-1984)
Adnan Kh. Al-Talyani [UAE] 53 (164) (1984-1997)
25.Fandi Ahmad [Singapore] 52 (101) (1979-1997)
Poul "Tist" Nielsen [Denmark] 52 ( 38) (1910-1925)
Jon Dahl Tomasson [Denmark] 52*(112) (1997-2010)
Zico [Brazil] 52 ( 72) (1976-1986)
29.Thierry Henry [France] 51*(123) (1997-2010)
Hakan Sükür [Turkey] 51*(112) (1992-2007)
Lájos Tichy [Hungary] 51 ( 72) (1955-1971) [12]
32.Karim Bagheri [Iran] 50*( 87) (1993-2010)
Samuel Eto'o Fils [Cameroon] 50*(103) (1997-2011)
Seon-Hong Hwang [South Korea] 50 (103) (1993-2002)
35.Bobby Charlton [England] 49 (106) (1958-1970) [9]
Sven Rydell [Sweden] 49 ( 43) (1923-1932)
37.Dimitar Berbatov [Bulgaria] 48*( 79) (1999-2010)
Hristo Bonev [Bulgaria] 48 ( 96) (1967-1979) [14]
Gary Lineker [England] 48 ( 80) (1984-1991)
40.Didier Drogba [Ivory Coast] 47*( 73) (2002-2011)
Rolando Fonseca [Costa Rica] 47*(113) (1992-2011)
Jürgen Klinsmann [(West) Germany] 47 (108) (1987-1998)
Pauleta [Portugal] 47*( 88) (1997-2006)
Rudi Völler [(West) Germany] 47 ( 90) (1982-1994)
45.Jared Borgetti [Mexico] 46*( 89) (1997-2008)
Robbie Keane [Ireland] 46*(105) (1998-2011)
Davor Suker [Croatia/Yugoslavia] 46 ( 71) (1990-2002) [4]
David Villa [Spain] 46*( 72) (2005-2011)
49.Landon Donovan [USA] 45*(130) (2000-2011)
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge [West Germany] 45 ( 95) (1976-1986)
Andriy Shevchenko [Ukraine] 45*(100) (1995-2010)
Laith Hussein Shihaib [Iraq] 45 ( 96)
Paulo César Wanchope [Costa Rica] 45*( 73) (1996-2008)
54.Jimmy Greaves [England] 44 ( 57) (1959-1967) [9]
Sami Al-Jaber [Saudi Arabia] 44*(158) (1992-2006)
Pauli Jørgensen [Denmark] 44 ( 47) (1925-1939)
Wlodzimierz Lubanski [Poland] 44 ( 65) (1963-1980) [5, 8]
Toni Polster [Austria] 44 ( 95) (1982-2000)
Raúl [Spain] 44*(102) (1996-2006)
60.Gunnar Nordahl [Sweden] 43 ( 33) (1942-1948)
Uwe Seeler [West Germany] 43 ( 72) (1954-1970)
62.Michael Ballack [Germany] 42*( 98) (1999-2010)
Alexander Frei [Switzerland] 42*( 84) (2001-2011)
Grzegorz Lato [Poland] 42 ( 95) (1971-1984) [5, 8]
Ole Madsen [Denmark] 42 ( 51) (1958-1969)
Lukas Podolski [Germany] 42*( 86) (2004-2011)
Ahmed Radhi [Iraq] 42 ( 73) (1983-1997)
Carlos Humberto Ruiz [Guatemala] 42*( 87) (1998-2011)
Györgi Sárosi [Hungary] 42 ( 62) (1931-1943) [13]
70.Eusébio [Portugal] 41 ( 64) (1961-1973)
Hao Haidong [China] 41*(109) (1992-2004)
Michel Platini [France] 41 ( 72) (1976-1987)
73.Patrick Kluivert [Netherlands] 40*( 79) (1994-2004)
Michael Owen [England] 40*( 89) (1998-2008)
75.Milan Baros [Czech Republic] 39*( 81) (2001-2011)
"Bebeto" [Brazil] 39 ( 73) (1985-1998)
Cuauhtémoc Blanco [Mexico] 39*(119) (1995-2010)
Raúl Díaz Arce [El Salvador] 39 ( 55) (1991-2000)
Nándor Hidegkuti [Hungary] 39 ( 69) (1945-1958)
Ernest Pol [Poland] 39 ( 46) (1956-1965) [5]
81.Stjepan Bobek [Yugoslavia] 38 ( 63) (1946-1956)
Preben Elkjær-Larsen [Denmark] 38 ( 69) (1977-1988)
83.Fabrice Maceio 'Akwa' [Angola] 37*( ) (1995-2006)
Dennis Bergkamp [Netherlands] 37*( 79) (1990-2000)
Olivier Bierhoff [(West) Germany] 37 ( 70) (1996-2002)
Milan Galic [Yugoslavia] 37 ( 51) (1959-1965)
Henrik Larsson [Sweden] 37*(106) (1993-2009)
Michael Laudrup [Denmark] 37 (104) (1982-1998)
Savo Milosevic [Yugoslavia/S.-M.] 37*(102) (1994-2008)
Marcelo Salas [Chile] 37*( 70) (1994-2007)
Hristo Stoichkov [Bulgaria] 37 ( 83) (1987-1999) [11]
Rashidi Yekini [Nigeria] 37 ( 58) (1984-1998)
93.Ferenc Bene [Hungary] 36 ( 76) (1962-1979)
Ali Mohammed Karimi [Iran] 36*(112) (1998-2010)
Blagoje Marjanovic [Yugoslavia] 36 ( 57) (1926-1938)
Andres Oper [Estonia] 36*(121) (1995-2011)
97.Oleg Blokhin [Soviet Union] 35 (101) (1972-1988)
Hernán Crespo [Argentina] 35*( 64) (1995-2007)
Gheorghe Hagi [Romania] 35 (124) (1983-2000)
David Healy [Northern Ireland] 35*( 86) (2000-2011)
Carlos Hermosillo [Mexico] 35*( 90) (1984-1997)
Luis Hernández [Mexico] 35*( 85) (1995-2002)
Bader Ahmed Al-Mutawa [Kuwait] 35*(102) (2003-2011)
Ruud van Nistelrooij [Netherlands] 35*( 70) (1998-2011)
Juan Carlos Plata [Guatemala] 35*( 87) (1996-2010)
Antonin Puc [Czechoslovakia/B&M;] 35 ( 61) (1926-1939)
Luigi Riva [Italy] 35*( 42) (1965-1974)
Wilmer Velásquez [Honduras] 35*( 47) (1994-2007)
Faas Wilkes [Netherlands] 35 ( 38) (1946-1961)
Zlatko Zahovic [Slovenia] 35*( 80) (1992-2004)
111.Max Abegglen [Switzerland] 34 ( 68) (1922-1937)
Iuliu Bodola [Romania/Hungary] 34 ( 61) (1931-1948) [7]
Angus Eve [Trinidad/Tobago] 34*(117) (1994-2005)
Ulf Kirsten [(East) Germany] 34 (100) (1985-2000) [6]
Johann Krankl [Austria] 34 ( 69) (1973-1985)
Younis Mahmoud [Iraq] 34*( 81) (2002-2011)
Diego Maradona [Argentina] 34 ( 91) (1977-1994)
Mohd Noh Alam Shah [Singapore] 34*( 83) (2001-2010)
Milton Núñez [Honduras] 34*( 86) (1994-2008)
Bambang Pamungkas [Indonesia] 34*( 76) (1999-2010)
Rivaldo [Brazil] 34*( 74) (1993-2003)
David Trezeguet [France] 34*( 71) (1998-2008)
Kubilay Türkyilmaz [Switzerland] 34*( 62) (1988-2001)
Ernest Wilimowski [Poland/Germany] 34 ( 30) (1934-1942) [10]
Eric Wynalda [USA] 34 (106) (1990-2000)
Ivan Zamorano [Chile] 34 ( 69) (1987-2001)
127.Johan Cruijff [Netherlands] 33 ( 48) (1966-1977)
Kazimierz Deyna [Poland] 33 ( 84) (1969-1978) [5, 8]
"Jairzinho" [Brazil] 33 ( 81) (1963-1982) [9]
Jørgen Juve [Norway] 33 ( 45) (1928-1937)
Kurniawan Dwi Julianto[Indonesia] 33*( 60) (1995-2005)
Abe Lenstra [Netherlands] 33 ( 47) (1940-1959)
Patrick Mboma [Cameroon] 33*( 57) (1995-2004)
Giuseppe Meazza [Italy] 33 ( 53) (1930-1939)
Maksim Shatskikh [Uzbekistan] 33*( 56) (1999-2011)
Fritz Walter [(West) Germany] 33 ( 61) (1940-1958)
137.Ademir Marques [Brazil] 32 ( 39) (1945-1953)
Luis Figo [Portugal] 32*(127) (1991-2006)
Klaus Fischer [West Germany] 32 ( 45) (1977-1982)
Gunnar Gren [Sweden] 32 ( 57) (1940-1958)
Ahmed Hassan [Egypt] 32*(175) (1996-2010)
Jari Litmanen [Finland] 32*(137) (1989-2010)
Benni McCarthy [South Africa] 32*( 79) (1997-2010)
Rajko Mitic [Yugoslavia] 32 ( 59) (1946-1957)
Tibor Nyilasi [Hungary] 32 ( 70) (1975-1985)
"Ronaldinho" [Brazil] 32*( 88) (1999-2010)
"Tostão" [Brazil] 32 ( 54) (1966-1972) [9]
Gyula Zsengellér [Hungary] 32 ( 39) (1936-1947)
149.Florián Albert [Hungary] 31 ( 75) (1959-1974)
Kennet Andersson [Sweden] 31*( 83) (1990-2000)
Enrique Borja [Mexico] 31 ( 65) (1966-1975)
Agustín Delgado [Ecuador] 31*( 71) (1994-2006)
Mirdzhalal Kasymov [Uzbekistan] 31*( 67) (1992-2005)
Michalis Konstandinou [Cyprus] 31*( 79) (1997-2011)
Adrian Mutu [Romania] 31*( 69) (2000-2011)
Zdénék Nehoda [Czechoslovakia] 31 ( 90) (1971-1987)
Héctor Scarone [Uruguay] 31 ( 52) (1917-1930)
Zinedine Zidane [France] 31 (108) (1994-2006)
158.Soon-Ho Choi [South Korea] 30 ( 95) (1980-1991)
Kenny Dalglish [Scotland] 30 (102) (1972-1987)
Tom Finney [England] 30 ( 76) (1946-1958)
Just Fontaine [France] 30 ( 21) (1953-1960)
Denis Law [Scotland] 30 ( 55) (1959-1974)
Ernst Lehner [Germany] 30 ( 65) (1936-1942)
Nathaniel Lofthouse [England] 30 ( 33) (1950-1958)
Brian McBride [USA] 30 ( 95) (1993-2006)
Jean-Pierre Papin [France] 30 ( 54) (1986-1995)
Silvio Piola [Italy] 30 ( 34) (1935-1952)
Alan Shearer [England] 30 ( 63) (1991-2000)
Luton Shelton [Jamaica] 30*( 55) (2004-2010)
Paul Van Himst [Belgium] 30 ( 81) (1960-1974)
Bernard Voorhoof [Belgium] 30 ( 61) (1928-1940)
Luis Alves "Zague" [Mexico] 30*( 84) (1988-2001)
"Zizinho" [Brazil] 30 ( 53) (1942-1957)
Players whose country is italicized are national record holders.
Players marked with * are still active.
Notes:
[ 1] Puskás scored all his 84 international goals in his 85 appearances
for Hungary; in his 4 internationals for Spain he did not score. Note
that Puskás had a match vs Lebanon played in 1956 recognised as official
by the Hungarian FA in May 2002 (!). Puskás scored 1 goal in that match.
[ 2] Woodward scored 29 goals in 23 matches for the official England team
between 1903 and 1911 and 44 goals in 30 matches for the England
Amateur side between 1906 and 1914; all matches for the Amateur side
were considered full internationals for their respective opponents.
[ 3] Abdullah was earlier reported as having 147 caps, but investigations
of IFFHS discovered 4 matches which were not played and 1 against an
Irish League XI; 2 more matches were deleted from the records following
FIFA's decision not to recognize Olympic matches (see above);
one more involved non-FIFA members Northern Cyprus.
[ 4] Suker scored 45 goals in 69 matches for Croatia and 1 goal in 2
matches for (former) Yugoslavia.
[ 5] Previous official Polish records included unofficial matches. Earlier
records included: Lubanski 50 goals in 81 matches, Lato 45 in 104,
Deyna 45 in 102, Pol 40 in 49 and Szarmach 36 in 64 (now 25 in 55).
[ 6] Ulf Kirsten scored 14 goals in 49 matches for East Germany and 20
goals in 51 matches for Germany.
[ 7] Iuliu Bodola scored 30 goals in 48 matches for Romania and 4 goals
in 13 matches for Hungary.
[ 8] several players had Olympic matches (and possibly goals) deleted
from their records.
[ 9] several players had matches (and possibly goals) against FIFA or
continental representations deducted - or not, see below.
[10] Ernest Wilimowski scored 21 goals in 22 matches for Poland and 13
goals in 8 matches for Germany.
[11] This total includes 1 goal in 1 match against an East Germany
olympic team in a match which the Bulgarian FA insists is official.
[12] Note that Tichy had a match vs Lebanon played in 1956 recognised
as official by the Hungarian FA in May 2002 (!). He scored two goals
in that match.
[13] Note that Sarosi had a match vs Portugal played in 1933 recognised
as official by the Hungarian FA in May 2002 (!). He did not score in
that match.
[14] This includes goals from Olympic and other matches recognised by
the Bulgarian FA (but not by FIFA) as official.
[15] Includes Daei's cap but not his goal on October 27, 2003, against
North Korea; the match was abandoned and later awarded 3-0 to Iran.
FIFA decided in 1999 that while all Olympic matches from 1908-1952 (bar those involving Great Britain or countries with a professional league who sent amateur squads, e.g. Austria in 1936) are full internationals, all matches since the sixties are not at all recognised, while for the intermediate part additional analysis will be made. Ten years later, no such analysis appears to have been forthcoming. Most Eastern European and Scandinavian FAs (to whom the issue is most relevant) have ignored the ruling, and the relevant countries have the totals as recognised by the responsible FAs included in the list, with the exception of a few which will be looked at later.
The following players were affected in the above list:
Kunishige Kamamoto [Japan] (was 82 from 85; lost 27 goals from 24 matches)
Wlodzimierz Lubanski [Poland] (was 48 from 75; lost 4 goals from 10 matches)
Oleg Blokhin [Soviet Union] (was 42 from 112; lost 7 goals from 11 matches)
Grzegorz Lato [Poland] (was 45 from 100; lost 3 goals from 5 matches)
Kazimierz Deyna [Poland] (was 41 from 97; lost 8 goals from 12 matches)
Andrzej Szarmach [Poland] (was 31 from 60; lost 6 goals from 5 matches)
FIFA and Continental Representations
In January 2001, FIFA deleted all matches against FIFA XI's or continental representations. However, most FAs (including those of Brazil, England, Frane and Italy) did not follow this ruling and keep the relevant matches in their records.
The above list therefore ignores this FIFA ruling.
The following players may have more than 30 goals for their country (numbers indicated are not yet official and under investigation) or may reach that total in the near future:
Al-Thenaian [Saudi Arabia] 47
Keith Gumbs [St. Kitts/Nevis] 47*
Hani Al-Dhabit [Oman] 45
Yasser Al-Qahtani [Saudi Arabia] 41*
I.M. Vijayan [India] 40
Obeid Al-Dossary [Saudi Arabia] 39
Peter Ndlovu [Zimbabwe] 38
Faisel Al-Dekheel [Kuwait] 36
Mubarak Mustafa [Qatar] 34
Abdelhafid Tasfaout [Algeria] 34
Jassim Yacoub [Kuwait] 34
Kalusha Bwalya [Zambia] 33
Mohamed Al-Enazi [Qatar] 33
Amad Ali S. Al-Hosni [Oman] 32*
Ricky Charles [Grenada] 30
Le Huynh Duc [Vietnam] 30
Baichung Bhutia [India] 30*
Fawzi Bashir [Oman<] 30*
Siu-Ki Chan [Hongkong] 30*
Austin Huggins [St. Kitts/Nevis]
Vernon Sangeart [St. Kitts/Nevis]
Abdoulaye Traoré [Ivory Coast] 29?
Pascal Feindouno [Guinea] 28?
Frédéric Kanouté [Mali] 23
Note: record holders with 30+ goals can be found above.
Alban Bushi [Albania] 14*( 65)
Rabah Madjer [Algeria] 29 ( 83) (1978-1992)
Ildefons Lima [Andorra] 7*( 67)
Richard O'Connor [Anguilla] 5*
Artur Petrosyan [Armenia] 11*( 69)
Damian Mori [Australia] 29*( 45)
Gurban Gurbanov [Azerbaijan] 12*( 65)
Nesley Jean [Bahamas] 4*
Hussein Ali Ahmed [Bahrain] 33*
Maxym Romashchenko [Belarus] 19*( 65)
Deon MacCauley [Belize] 4*
Razak Omotoyossi [Benin] 18*
Wangay Dorji [Bhutan] 5*
Joaquín Botero [Bolivia] 20*( 48)
Elvir Bolic [Bosnia-Herzegovina] 22*( 52)
Diphetogo Selolwane [Botswana] 15*
Moumouni Dagano [Burkina Faso] 29*
John Catliff [Canada] 19 ( 43)
Dale Mitchell [Canada] 19 ( 55)
Carlos Morais [Cape Verde] 10*
Arnoldo Iguarán [Colombia] 25 ( 67)
Ahmad Seif [Comoros] 2*
Lester Moré [Cuba] 29*
Ahmed Daher [Djibouti] 4*
Kurlson Benjamin [Dominica] 12*
Adelio Maria Costa [East Timor] 3*
Emilio Da Silva [East Timor] 3*
Rógvi Jacobsen [Faroe Islands] 10*( 54)
Shota Arveladze [Georgia] 26*( 60)
Nikolaos Anastopoulos [Greece] 29 ( 73)
Zachary Pangelinan [Guam] 11*
Nigel Codrington [Guyana] 17*
Eiður Sm. Gudjohnsen [Iceland] 24*( 63)
Mordechai Spiegler [Israel] 24 ( 57)
Ruslan Baltiyev [Kazakhstan] 13*( 73)
Mirlan Murzaev [Kyrgyzstan] 4*( 6)
Visay Phaphouvanin [Laos] 13*
Maris Verpakovskis [Latvia] 28*( 86)
Wartan Ghazarian [Lebanon] 19
Mario Frick [Liechtenstein] 16*( 99)
Tomas Danilevicius [Lithuania] 19*( 67)
Léon Mart [Luxembourg] 16 ( 24)
Chan Kin Seng [Macao] 13*
Goran Pandev [Macedonia] 23*( 58)
Ali Ashfaq [Maldives] 21*
Michael Mifsud [Malta] 25*( 81)
Patrick Percin [Martinique] 19*
Serghei Clescenco [Moldova] 11*( 69)
Lumbengarav Donorov [Mongolia] 7*
Marko Vucinic [Montenegro] 11*( 21)
Manuel José Bucuane [Mozambique] 23*
Michel Hmaé [New Caledonia] 12*
Vaughan Coveny [New Zealand] 28*( 64)
Emilio Palacios [Nicaragua] 11*
Joe Wang Miller [Northern Marianas] 3*
Fahed Attal [Palestine] 12*
Luis Tejada [Panama] 19*
José Saturnino Cardozo [Paraguay] 25*( 82)
Teófilo Cubillas [Peru] 26 ( 81)
Phil Younghusband [Philippines] 13*
Vladimir Beschastnykh [Russia] 26*( 70)
Olivier Kerekezi [Rwanda] 15*
Shandel Samuel [Saint Vincent/Gr.] 26*
Andy Selva [San Marino] 8*( 50)
Philip Zialor [Seychelles] 10*
Robert Vittek [Slovakia] 23*( 77)
K.N.J. Weerarathne. [Sri Lanka] 29*
Firas Al-Khatib [Syria] 26*
Emmanuel Adebayor [Togo] 23*( 43)
Numonjon Khakimov [Tajikistan] 16*
Issam Jomaa [Tunisia] 22*
Charyar Mukhadov [Turkmenistan] 13
Gavin Glinton [Turks and Caicos] 4*( 6)
Richard Iwai [Vanuatu] 19*
Giancarlo Maldonado [Venezuela] 20*( 53)
Ian Rush [Wales] 28 ( 73)
Ali Al-Nono [Yemen] 25*
Players marked with * are still active.
With thanks to Matthias Arnhold ([email protected]), John Beuker, Frank Ballesteros, Yaniv Bleicher ([email protected]), Søren Elbech ([email protected]), Fernando Espinoza Añazco ([email protected]), László Földesi ([email protected]), Dick Holstein ([email protected]), Andrei Libin ([email protected]), Dave Litterer ([email protected]), Misha Miladinovich ([email protected]), Neil Morrison ([email protected]), Gwidon Naskrent ([email protected]), Milad Niqui ([email protected]), Chuka Onwumechili ([email protected]), Jarek Owsianski ([email protected]), Majeed Panahi ([email protected]), Luis Fernando Passo Alpuin ([email protected]), José Luis Pierrend ([email protected]), Ricardo Pontes, Macario Reyes, Ralph Rönsch ([email protected]), Phil Schoen ([email protected]) and Bernd Timmermann ([email protected]) for various informations and corrections.
Prepared and maintained by Roberto Mamrud and Karel Stokkermans for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Authors: Roberto Mamrud
([email protected])
and Karel Stokkermans
([email protected])
Last updated: 10 Jun 2011
(C) Copyright Roberto Mamrud, Karel Stokkermans
and RSSSF 1998/2011
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
acknowledgement is given to the authors. All rights reserved.