# Progression of association football goalscoring record

This is a progressive list of men's association footballers who have held or co-held the world record for international goals, beginning with William Kenyon-Slaney, who played in England's second international scoring two goals.

## Criteria

The criteria used by national FAs in considering a match as a full international were not historically fixed. Particularly for the early decades, and until more recently for FAs outside UEFA and CONMEBOL, counts of goals were often considered unreliable. RSSSF and IFFHS have spent much effort trying to produce definitive lists of full international matches, and corresponding data on players' international caps and goals. Using this data, the following records can be retrospectively produced. Note that, at the time, these records may not have been recognised.
One point of note is that early matches by the England Amateur side were played against the full national side of opponents. These matches are counted as full internationals by the IFFHS and the opposing FAs, though not by the (English) FA. This affects Vivian Woodward, who scored 29 full goals and 44 amateur goals; the IFFHS and RSSSF considers him as the record-holder from 1908.

## World record

| Player | Country | Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Notes |
| William Kenyon-Slaney | England | 2 | 1873-03-08 | Kennington Oval | Scotland | 4–2 | |
| Henry McNeil | Scotland | 2 | 1876-03-04 | Hamilton Crescent | England | 3–0 | |
| Henry McNeil | Scotland | 3 | 1876-03-25 | Hamilton Crescent | Wales | 4–0 | |
| John Ferguson | Scotland | 3 | 1877-03-03 | Kennington Oval | England | 3–1 | |
| Henry McNeil | Scotland | 5 | 1878-03-02 | Hampden Park | England | 7–2 | |
| John Ferguson | Scotland | 5 | 1878-03-23 | Hampden Park | Wales | 9–0 | |
| Billy MacKinnon | Scotland | 5 | 1879-04-05 | The Oval | England | 4–5 | |
| John Smith | Scotland | 6 | 1881-03-12 | The Oval | England | 6–1 | |
| George Ker | Scotland | 7 | 1881-03-14 | Racecourse Ground | Wales | 5–1 | |
| George Ker | Scotland | 9 | 1882-03-11 | Hampden Park | England | 5–1 | |
| George Ker | Scotland | 10 | 1882-03-25 | Hampden Park | Wales | 5–0 | |
| John Smith | Scotland | 10 | 1884-03-15 | 1st Cathkin Park | England | 1–0 | |
| Charles Bambridge | England | 10 | 1885-02-28 | | Ireland | 4–0 | |
| Charles Bambridge | England | 11 | 1885-03-21 | | Scotland | 1–1 | |
| Tinsley Lindley | England | 11 | 1888-04-07 | | Ireland | 5–1 | |
| Fred Dewhurst | England | 11 | 1888-02-23 | | Wales | 4–1 | |
| Tinsley Lindley | England | 12 | 1890-02-23 | | Wales | 3–1 | |
| Tinsley Lindley | England | 14 | 1891-03-07 | | Ireland | 6–1 | |
| Steve Bloomer | England | 15 | 1899-04-02 | | Scotland | 3–1 | |
| Steve Bloomer | England | 17 | 1899-02-19 | | Ireland | 13–2 | |
| Steve Bloomer | England | 19 | 1899-03-20 | | Wales | 4–0 | |
| Steve Bloomer | England | 20 | 1900-04-07 | | Scotland | 1–4 | |
| Steve Bloomer | England | 24 | 1901-03-18 | | Wales | 6–0 | |
| Steve Bloomer | England | 25 | 1901-03-30 | | Scotland | 2–2 | |
| Steve Bloomer | England | 26 | 1904-04-09 | | Scotland | 1–0 | |
| Steve Bloomer | England | 27 | 1905-02-25 | | Ireland | 1–1 | |
| Steve Bloomer | England | 28 | 1907-04-06 | | Scotland | 1–1 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England | 31 | 1908-06-08 | | Austria | 11–1 | Woodward scored four times in this match to overtake Bloomer. |
| Vivian Woodward | England | 32 | 1908-06-10 | | Hungary | 7–0 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 34 | 1908-10-20 | | Sweden | 12–1 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 35 | 1908-10-24 | | Denmark | 2–0 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England | 37 | 1909-02-13 | | Ireland | 4–0 | Woodward scored twice in this match. |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 39 | 1909-04-17 | | Belgium | 11–2 | Woodward scored twice in this match. |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 43 | 1909-05-20 | | Switzerland | 9–0 | Woodward scored four times in this match. |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 44 | 1909-05-22 | | France | 11–0 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England | 46 | 1909-05-29 | | Hungary | 4–2 | Woodward scored twice in this match. |
| Vivian Woodward | England | 50 | 1909-05-31 | | Hungary | 8–2 | Woodward scored four times in this match. |
| Vivian Woodward | England | 53 | 1909-06-01 | | Austria | 8–1 | Woodward scored three times in this match. |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 54 | 1909-11-06 | | Sweden | 7–0 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 60 | 1909-12-11 | | Netherlands | 9–1 | Woodward scored six times in this match. |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 61 | 1911-03-04 | | Belgium | 4–0 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England | 63 | 1911-03-13 | | Wales | 3–0 | Woodward scored twice in this match. |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 64 | 1911-05-25 | | Switzerland | 4–1 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 65 | 1912-03-16 | | Netherlands | 4–0 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 66 | 1912-06-30 | | Hungary | 7–0 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 68 | 1912-11-09 | | Belgium | 4–0 | Woodward scored twice in this match. |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 69 | 1913-03-21 | | Germany | 3–0 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 70 | 1913-03-24 | | Netherlands | 1–2 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 71 | 1913-11-15 | | Netherlands | 2–1 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 72 | 1914-02-24 | | Belgium | 8–1 | |
| Vivian Woodward | England Amateurs | 73 | 1914-06-10 | | Sweden | 5–1 | |
| Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 73 | 1955-05-19 | | Finland | 9–1 | |
| Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 75 | 1955-09-17 | | Switzerland | 5–4 | Puskás scored twice in this match. |
| Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 76 | 1955-09-25 | | Czechoslovakia | 3–1 | |
| Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 77 | 1955-10-16 | | Austria | 6–1 | |
| Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 78 | 1955-11-13 | | Sweden | 4–2 | |
| Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 79 | 1955-11-27 | | Italy | 2–0 | |
| Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 80 | 1956-02-19 | | Turkey | 1–3 | |
| Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 81 | 1956-02-29 | | Lebanon | 4–1 | |
| Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 82 | 1956-06-03 | | Belgium | 4–5 | |
| Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 83 | 1956-09-16 | | Yugoslavia | 3–1 | |
| Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 84 | 1956-10-14 | | Austria | 2–0 | |
| Mokhtar Dahari | Malaysia | 84 | 1981-04-05 | | Singapore | 1–1 | |
| Mokhtar Dahari | Malaysia | 85 | 1981-09-09 | | Indonesia | 2–0 | |
| Mokhtar Dahari | Malaysia | 86 | 1981-09-15 | | India | 2–2 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 86 | 2003-12-02 | | Kuwait | 1–3 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 87 | 2004-02-18 | | Qatar | 3–1 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 89 | 2004-03-31 | | Laos | 7–0 | Daei scored twice in this match. |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 92 | 2004-06-17 | | Lebanon | 4–0 | Daei scored three times in this match. |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 93 | 2004-06-21 | | Syria | 7–1 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 94 | 2004-06-25 | | Syria | 4–1 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 95 | 2004-07-20 | | Thailand | 3–0 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 97 | 2004-08-06 | | Bahrain | 4–2 | Daei scored twice in this match. |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 98 | 2004-09-08 | | Jordan | 2–0 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 102 | 2004-11-17 | | Laos | 7–0 | Daei scored four times in this match. |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 103 | 2004-12-18 | | Panama | 1–0 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 104 | 2005-02-02 | | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–1 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 105 | 2005-08-17 | | Japan | 1–2 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 106 | 2005-08-24 | | Libya | 4–0 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 107 | 2005-11-13 | | Togo | 2–0 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 108 | 2006-02-22 | | Chinese Taipei | 4–0 | |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 109 | 2006-03-01 | | Costa Rica | 3–2 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 109 | 2021-06-23 | Puskás Aréna | France | 2–2 | Ronaldo scored twice in this match to equal Daei. |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 111 | 2021-09-01 | Estádio Algarve | Republic of Ireland | 2–1 | Ronaldo scored twice in this match. |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 112 | 2021-10-09 | Estádio Algarve | Qatar | 1–0 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 115 | 2021-10-12 | Estádio Algarve | Luxembourg | 5–0 | Ronaldo scored three times in this match. |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 117 | 2022-06-05 | Estádio José Alvalade | Switzerland | 4–0 | Ronaldo scored twice in this match. |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 118 | 2022-11-24 | Stadium 974 | Ghana | 3–2 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 120 | 2023-03-23 | Estádio José Alvalade | Liechtenstein | 4–0 | Ronaldo scored twice in this match. |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 122 | 2023-03-26 | Stade de Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 6–0 | Ronaldo scored twice in this match. |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 123 | 2023-06-20 | Laugardalsvöllur | Iceland | 0–1 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 125 | 2023-10-13 | Estádio do Dragão | Slovakia | 3–2 | Ronaldo scored twice in this match. |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 127 | 2023-10-16 | Bilino Polje | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0–5 | Ronaldo scored twice in this match. |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 128 | 2023-11-16 | Rheinpark Stadion | Liechtenstein | 0–2 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 130 | 2024-06-11 | Estádio Municipal de Aveiro | Republic of Ireland | 3–0 | Ronaldo scored twice in this match. |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 131 | 2024-09-05 | Estádio da Luz | Croatia | 2–1 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 132 | 2024-09-08 | Estádio da Luz | Scotland | 2–1 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 133 | 2024-10-12 | Stadion Narodowy | Poland | 1–3 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 135 | 2024-11-15 | Estádio do Dragão | Poland | 5–1 | Ronaldo scored twice in this match. |