Comparing Goal-Scoring Prowess: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s National Team Records

Cristiano Ronaldo had a not very successful tournament with the Portuguese team in the 2022 World Cup. However, he is gradually regaining his form after returning from Al Nassr.

Currently, he is still the greatest striker at the national team level in the world. And with two goals scored against Liechtenstein, his record is even harder to break.

Who is the top scorer at the national team level?

Cristiano Ronaldo is the holder of this record. He has a total of 122 goals after 198 appearances for the Portuguese team.

The 37-year-old star has surpassed Ali Daei’s achievements. The legend of Iranian football scored 109 goals for the Middle Eastern team. However, he retired from his career in 2006 with 148 matches for Iran.

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In the national team bomb rankings, Lionel Messi is the only name that can catch up with Cristiano Ronaldo at the present time. The new world champion has 99 goals in 173 appearances for Argentina.

Even if both of them play until they are 40 years old, it will be difficult for Lionel Messi to catch up with Cristiano Ronaldo, especially when the Argentine star’s role is not that of a true goalscorer.

Top 10 players scoring the most goals in the national team

Player Nation Goal Number of matches Year of competition
first. Cristiano Ronaldo* Portugal 127 203 2003 —
2. Ali Daei Iran 109 148 1993-2006
3. Lionel Messi* Argentina 106 178 2005 —
4. Mokhtar Dahari Malaysia 89 142 1972-1985
5. Ferenc Puskas Hungary 84 89 1945-1956
= Sunil Chhetri* India 84 131 2005 —
7. Ali Mabkhout* UAE 80 108 2009 —
8. Godfrey Chitalu Zambia 79 111 1968-1980
9. Hussein Saeed Iraq 78 137 1976-1990
ten. Pele Brazil 77 92 1957-1971

* Currently still competing

The best striker at the women’s national team level in the world?

In the women’s rankings, Canadian striker Christine Sinclair holds the No. 1 position with 190 goals after 319 matches. She played for the North American country for 22 years and has not stopped her conquest yet.

Americans dominate the rankings with 5 names in the top 10 best scorers at the women’s national team level.

Christine Sinclair - Canada - Olympic gold

The most special case belongs to Jordan’s star, Maysa Jbarah. She has an impressive scoring performance, with 117 goals in only 113 matches at the team level.

Top 10 best scorers in the women’s national team

Player Nation Goal Match Year of competition
first. Christine Sinclair Canada 190 319 2000 —
2. Abby Wambach America 184 256 2001-2015
3. Mia Hamm America 158 275 1987-2004
4. Carli Lloyd America 134 316 2005-2021
5. Kristine Lilly America 130 352 1987-2010
6. Birgit Prinz Virtue 128 214 1994-2011
7. Alex Morgan America 119 200 2010 —
8. Maysa Jbarah Jordan 117 113 2005 —
9. Julie Fleeting Scotland 116 121 1996-2011
ten. Marta Brazil 115 172 2002 —

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