The 2026 FIFA World Cup is shaping up to be a farewell tour for some of the greatest goal scorers the international game has ever produced. And at the very top of that list, as he has been for years now, sits Cristiano Ronaldo with 143 goals for Portugal.
That number is not a typo. It is, by a comfortable margin, the most international goals any player has ever scored.
The goal-scoring hierarchy heading into 2026
Lionel Messi trails Ronaldo with 117 goals for Argentina.
The gap between first and second is 26 goals. To put that in perspective, 26 international goals would be a very respectable career total for most players.
