page_title: Aleksandr Kerzhakov
section_title: 2010–2015: Record goalscorer
hierarchical_section_title: Aleksandr Kerzhakov / International career / 2010–2015: Record goalscorer
caption_attribution_description: English: Aleksandr Kerzhakov
context_page_description: Aleksandr Anatolyevich Kerzhakov is a Russian football manager and a former Russian international striker. He is the manager of the Russia national under-18 football team.
  He is the most prolific goalscorer in the history of Russian football, with the number of goals scored in competitive games standing at 233. He is described as a forward who likes to "drop deep to link with the midfield, expecting players to break beyond him" for whom he creates space.
  A full international since 2002, Kerzhakov has earned 90 caps for Russia and played at two World Cups and two European Championships. In 2014, he surpassed the record held by Vladimir Beschastnykh for most goals for Russia.
context_section_description: Kerzhakov's red card against earned him a suspension for two matches causing him to miss the first two qualifiers of the Euro 2012 campaign. Upon being recalled by Dick Advocaat, Kerzhakov scored in the victories over Ireland and Macedonia. Kerzhakov failed to score but managed to make three additional appearances as Russia topped Group B to qualify directly for the final tournament. He was confirmed for the final UEFA Euro 2012 squad, but the tournament turned into a major disappointment, as he scored no goals and Russia were eliminated in the first round.
  After the Euro 2012 disappointment, former England manager Fabio Capello was appointed and Kerzhakov was made the undisputed first choice striker after Andrei Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko, and Pavel Pogrebnyak were dropped. Kerzhakov was Russia's top goalscorer during their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with five goals, including the winning goal in a 1–0 defeat of Portugal.
  On 2 June 2014, he was included in  Russia's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. In the team's first match of the tournament, a 1–1 draw with South Korea, Kerzhakov appeared as a 71st-minute substitute for Yuri Zhirkov and scored the team's equalising goal three minutes later. The goal was his 26th for Russia, equaling Vladimir Beschastnykh's record for the national team. On 3 September 2014, in a 4–0 friendly win over Azerbaijan, he scored two goals and thus became the outright top scorer for the Russian national team.
caption: Kerzhakov training for Russia on 3 September 2014, ahead of the game when he broke the record for most goals for Russia
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