NEW - ALL TIME RANKING FOR INTERNATIONAL GOAL SCORERS
Romelu Lukaku in all-time ranking for annual international scorers
Here we publish for the first time the all-time ranking for the most prolific international goal-scorers in a single calendar year.
33 occasions of 20 or more international goals scoring during a year by a player are collected in the table.
Romelu Lukaku, the winner of the 2023 IFFHS international goal-scorer award, entered the ranking due to his great last year’s performance. He took 15th place in the historical chart.
Cristiano Ronaldo has reached the 20-goal annual mark most often (5 times), and he is the only one who has once managed to reach 30. His 32 goals scored in 2017 became the new world record. Before him, Just Fontaine (26 goals in 1958) held the record for a long time.
| MOST | INTERNATIONAL | GOALS | IN A CALENDAR | YEAR ALL-TIME | |||
| Year | Player | ICC | NT | Total | Country | Club | |
| 1 | 2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 21 | 11 | 32 | Portugal | Real Madrid (Spain) |
| 2 | 1958 | Just Fontaine | 8 | 18 | 26 | France | Reims |
| 3 | 1909 | Vivian Woodward | 25 | 25 | England, England Am. | Chelmsford, Chelsea | |
| 4 | 2012 | Lionel Messi | 13 | 12 | 25 | Argentina | Barcelona (Spain) |
| 5 | 2013 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 15 | 10 | 25 | Portugal | Real Madrid (Spain) |
| 6 | 1996 | Ali Daei | 2 | 22 | 24 | Iran | Persepolis, Al Sadd (Qatar) |
| 7 | 2021 | Harry Kane | 8 | 16 | 24 | England | Tottenham |
| 8 | 1972 | Gerd Müller | 11 | 13 | 24 | Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 9 | 2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 11 | 13 | 24 | Portugal | Real Madrid (Spain) |
| 10 | 2021 | Robert Lewandowski | 13 | 11 | 24 | Poland | Bayern (Germany) |
| 11 | 1954 | Sándor Kocsis | 23 | 23 | Hungary | Honvéd | |
| 12 | 2013 | Ali Ashfaq | 9 | 14 | 23 | Maldives | New Radiant |
| 13 | 1997 | Karim Bagheri | 2 | 20 | 22 | Iran | Persepolis, Arminia (Germany) |
| 14 | 2022 | Lionel Messi | 4 | 18 | 22 | Argentina | PSG (France) |
| 15 | 2023 | Romelu Lukaku | 7 | 15 | 22 | Belgium | Inter, Roma (Italy) |
| 16 | 2015 | Robert Lewandowski | 11 | 11 | 22 | Poland | Bayern (Germany) |
| 17 | 1937 | György Sárosi | 12 | 10 | 22 | Hungary | Ferencváros |
| 18 | 1908 | Vivian Woodward | 21 | 21 | England, England Am. | Tottenham | |
| 19 | 2000 | Bashar Abdullah | 21 | 21 | Kuwait | Al-Salmiya | |
| 20 | 2000 | Ali Daei | 2 | 19 | 21 | Iran | Hertha (Germany) |
| 21 | 2019 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 7 | 14 | 21 | Portugal | Juventus (Italy) |
| 22 | 2022 | Kylian Mbappé | 9 | 12 | 21 | France | PSG |
| 23 | 2000 | Rivaldo | 13 | 8 | 21 | Brazil | Barcelona (Spain) |
| 24 | 2016 | Lionel Messi | 13 | 8 | 21 | Argentina | Barcelona (Spain) |
| 25 | 2000 | Romário | 14 | 7 | 21 | Brazil | Vasco da Gama |
| 26 | 1972 | Abdul Kadir | 20 | 20 | Indonesia | Persebaya | |
| 27 | 1960 | Borivoje Kostić | 2 | 18 | 20 | Yugoslavia | Crvena Zvezda |
| 28 | 1997 | Ronaldo | 5 | 15 | 20 | Brazil | Barcelona (Spain), Inter (Italy) |
| 29 | 2015 | Ahmed Khalil | 6 | 14 | 20 | UAE | Al Ahli |
| 30 | 2018 | Baghdad Bounedjah | 13 | 7 | 20 | Algeria | Al Sadd (Qatar) |
| 31 | 2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 15 | 5 | 20 | Portugal | Real Madrid (Spain) |
| 32 | 2013 | Issam Jemâa | 16 | 4 | 20 | Tunisia | Kuwait SC (Kuwait) |
| 33 | 2007 | Trésor Mputu | 19 | 1 | 20 | DR Congo | TP Mazembe |
Goals that are counted:
ICC = scored in official competitions held by continental confederations and FIFA (plus the Mitropa Cup until 1940 and Fairs Cup),
NT = scored in “full internationals” for national teams.
Tie breaker : more national team goals