Top 10 International goal scorers of all time
Representing your national football team is something every footballer in the world aspires to do but to score a goal for your national team is a great achievement.
However, the feeling of being your national team’s record goalscorer is an indescribable feeling. The outcome of a football match rotates around goals and over the years many great players have shone for their respective national teams through their goal scoring prowess.
Many players have single-handedly won laurels for their countries through their goals. So, let’s take a look at the top 10 international goal scorers of all time.
NOTE: Players with the same number of goals have been ranked based on their goals/game average.
#10 Miroslav Klose (Germany) - 71 goals
Miroslav Klose is regarded as one of the finest strikers of his generation and one of Germany’s greatest ever strikers due to his heading accuracy, pace, and aerial ability. Klose’s club career has been impressive but he is best remembered for his performances with Germany.
In an international career lasting 13 years from 2001 till the 2014 World Cup, Klose netted 71 goals for his nation in 137 matches with a goals/game average of 0.518.
In his debut against Albania, it took only 15 minutes for Klose to score his maiden international goal after having come on as a substitute. Klose first came into international prominence at the 2002 World Cup where he scored five headers and helped Germany reach the final. He scored another five goals at the 2006 World Cup and was awarded the Golden Boot for being the top scorer of the tournament.
Another four goals at the 2010 World Cup made Klose the first, and till date, the only player to have scored at least four goals at three World Cups.
Klose finally laid his hands on the World Cup in 2014 where he scored twice and became the all-time leading goal scorer in World Cup history when he ironically Ronaldo’s 15-goal record against Brazil at Brazil. Soon after the World Cup, Klose called quits on his international career.
Out of his 71 goals, 48 of them have come in competitive matches and barring Euro 2004, there hasn’t been an international tournament where Klose played but did not score. During Klose’s international career, Germany have never lost a match where Klose scored.