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Rooney's eyes on the record
Steven LynchDecember 12, 2014
Wayne Rooney is closing in on the England goalscoring record. But who's the leading international scorer worldwide? asked Kevin Johnson
Wayne Rooney's two goals in the recent friendly against Scotland took his tally for England to 46, and lifted him clear of Jimmy Greaves (44). Only Gary Lineker (48) and Bobby Charlton (49) lie ahead, unless you count own goals (also 48). Michael Owen (40) is the only other man in the forties.
Worldwide, though, Rooney has a lot of ground to make up. Ali Daei scored no fewer than 109 goals in 149 internationals for Iran between 1993 and 2006, although he failed to find the net in five matches in the World Cup finals, in 1998 and 2006.
In second place overall is the legendary Ferenc Puskas, with 84 goals in just 89 games (85 for Hungary, and four for Spain); his long-time Magyars' team-mate Sandor Kocsis had an even higher strike rate, netting 75 times in 68 matches, an average of 1.1 goals per game. That is matched in the upper reaches of the goalscoring charts only by Gerd Muller of West Germany, with 68 in 62 matches.
Kocsis is joint fifth on the list, just behind Pele, who scored 77 times in 92 matches for Brazil. In third spot is Kunishige Kamamoto of Japan (80 goals in 84 matches).
In all 41 players have scored 50 or more goals in official internationals. The list includes current players Robbie Keane (65), Cristiano Ronaldo (52) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (51).
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