5 players with most international goals in a calendar year
Playing for your country in international games is a great honor for many players. They derive great joy from representing their countries on the international stage despite only getting to spend brief periods with the national team every year.
Every year, there is only a handful of windows allocated by FIFA for international football to take place, with teams playing two or three matches per window, excluding tournaments.
Footballers feature for their countries in March, June/July, September, October, and November, playing about 15 matches each year. Due to the relative lack of quality time with their teams, some players struggle to score goals regularly for their countries.
Despite this hindrance, a number of players have managed to bang in the goals consistently for their national teams every year. Without further ado, here is a list of five players who have scored the most goals in a calendar year in international football.
#5 Romelu Lukaku (14 goals in 2018)
Romelu Lukaku enjoyed a very productive 2018 calendar year with the Belgian national team. The striker scored 14 goals in 14 appearances for his country in what remains his highest goal total in a calendar year since making his debut for Belgium.
Lukaku played in six international friendly matches for Belgium in 2018, scoring six goals in those matches for his country. With 2018 being a FIFA World Cup year, Lukaku was a member of Belgium's squad for the tournament in Russia.
He featured six times and scored four goals as Belgium finished third in the competition. He played just two matches in the UEFA Nations League and scored four goals for his country.
Since the end of the 2018 World Cup, Romelu Lukaku has played 19 times for Belgium.
He has scored 21 goals, and laid on four assists 🔥
#EURO2020 | #BEL #RUS https://t.co/7nHGMZSJv8
Lukaku has a brilliant record in international football and is Belgium's record goalscorer with 68 goals in 102 appearances. The striker missed only three matches for Belgium in 2018, one in the World Cup and two Nations League matches.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo (14 goals in 2019)
No list of goalscorers in international football is complete without the inclusion of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese great has dominated football on the international stage and scored 14 goals in 2019 in only 10 appearances for the Selecao. This was his most prolific year for Portugal since his debut in 2003.
Ronaldo did not play in a major tournament in 2019 barring the UEFA Nations League, where he only featured in the latter stages to help his team win the tournament. He scored a hat-trick in the semi-final against Switzerland and ended up with three goals in two appearances in the competition.
The rest of his goals came in qualifiers for the European Championship, where he scored 11 times in only eight matches for Portugal in the year.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 117 goals for the Portuguese national team in 188 appearances. He is Portugal's all-time highest goalscorer and the leading goalscorer in the history of men's international football.
#3 Neymar (15 goals in 2014)
Brazilian superstar Neymar was at the peak of his powers in 2014, when he scored 15 goals in 14 appearances for Brazil's national team in the calendar year. Neymar has been a consistent goalscorer and a constant source of inspiration for Brazil's national team since his debut in 2010, but his performances in 2014 were exceptional.
Neymar was the poster boy for the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in his home country and carried his country before an unfortunate injury ended his tournament in the quarterfinals.
The forward played five times in the tournament and scored four goals for the Selecao. Neymar scored 11 goals in nine international friendlies for Brazil before and after the World Cup.
Neymar is currently on 74 goals for Brazil and is on track to beat the record of 77 goals set by Pele. The 30-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star has led Brazil to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and will look to keep inspiring his country.
#2 Harry Kane (16 goals in 2021)
Tottenham Hotspur and England striker Harry Kane is one of the world's most lethal finishers in football. The striker had a year to remember in 2021 as he scored 16 goals in 16 appearances for the English national team, his best tally for his country so far.
Kane scored 12 goals in only eight 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The England captain also scored four goals in seven appearances for the Three Lions at crucial stages at Euro 2020 as he led them to a second-place finish. He played in only one international friendly and failed to find the net in the match.
Kane has been England's first-choice striker for a number of years, and the 28-year-old has now scored 49 times for his country. The striker is only four goals away from equalling the record of 53 goals set by Wayne Rooney in the English national team. He took over the armband for the national team in 2017.
#1 Memphis Depay (17 goals in 2021)
Memphis Depay surprisingly tops the list as the player with the greatest number of goals scored in a calendar year. The Dutch forward managed 17 goals in just 16 appearances for the Netherlands national team in the calendar year.
Depay scored 12 goals in 10 qualifying matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The FC Barcelona man also scored three goals in two international friendly matches and two goals in four appearances at Euro 2020.
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At the start of 2021,Memphis Depay only had 22 goals for Netherlands
After scoring 16 goals in 16 games he is now 4th among the all time top scorers for his country with 38 goals . 💪🏾🦁 https://t.co/Vm1BmOZhDS
Depay has scored 41 goals in his international career for the Netherlands. He is nine goals away from equaling Robin Van Persie's record of 50 goals for the national team, who is also the highest scorer for The Netherlands.
The former Manchester United man looks set to feature in his second FIFA World Cup for his country, having played a starring role in the qualifiers.