This is Soccer Photos Base’s overview of all the players who have scored 40 or more goals.
Please notice: This is at present the only correct published statistic. Other publications, like Wikipedia, have so far been found to be incorrect/incomplete.

UPDATED: 9 FEBRUARY 2012

Robbie Keane has added two more goals to his tally, in Ireland’s play-off match for Euro 2012 away against Estonia. Ireland won 4-0 and secured qualification to the tournament. Keane has now reached 53 international goals.

Eight currently active players are in this list of players with 40 or more international goals.
35 year old Stern John is in 7th place with an amazing 70 goals for Trinidad & Tobago, while Landon Donovan and Andriy Shevchenko both have 46 goals and Carlos Ruiz has 45 goals.
In between the latter three and Stern John are four players in tough competition climbing the list: Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba currently on 54 goals, Robbie Keane on 53 and David Villa on 51 goals.

1. Ali Daei, Iran 109 goals (in 149 matches).
The Iranian striker topping the list had the advantage of staying on with his national team for an exceptionally long time. Many of the goals were scored against lower ranked teams, with the better exceptions being against teams like South Korea, Paraguay and Mexico. Ali Daei did spend five years of his career in the German Bundesliga, playing for Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern München and Hertha Berlin before moving to Dubai in 2002. He retired from the Iranian national team in 2006.

2. Ferenc Puskás, Hungary 84 goals (in 85 matches).
Puskás was Europe’s biggest star in the 1950s and the all-time international top scorer of the 20th century. He was the most prolific player in Hungary’s exceptional team at the time. At age 31 he joined Real Madrid and enjoyed several successful years teaming up with the likes of Alfredo Di Stéfano, winning five La Liga titles and three European Cup titles.

3. Pelé, Brazil 77 goals (in 92 matches).
Arguably the best player the world has seen, Pelé starred in four World Cups with Brazil, winning three of them. The first as a 17 year old in 1958, the last aged 29 in 1970. He became known as O Rei do Futebol (The King of Football).

4. Sándor Kocsis, Hungary 75 goals (in 68 matches).
The famous Hungarian team, known as Magical Magyars, won the 1952 Olympics and were runners-up in the 1954 World Cup. The biggest profile, next to Puskás, was Sándor Kocsis. His goals/game ratio was outstanding and beaten by nobody at this level. He scored 7 hat-tricks for Hungary and was the 1954 World Cup’s top scorer with eleven goals. He joined FC Barcelona in 1958 and won the La Liga in his first two season with them.
4. Kunishige Kamamoto, Japan 75 goals (in 76 matches).
4. Bashar Abdullah, Kuwait 75 goals (in 134 matches).

7. Stern John, Trinidad & Tobago 70 goals (in 114 matches).

8. Kiatisuk Senamuang, Thailand 69 goals (in 130 matches).
8. Hossam Hassan, Egypt 69 goals (in 169 matches).

10. Gerd Müller, Germany 68 goals (in 62 matches).
“Der Bomber” is together with Sándor Kocsis the only two players, having played more than 40 matches, who have averaged over 1,1 goal per match. In 1970 he was the World Cup top scorer (Germany came third) and also European Footballer of the Year. His exceptional goal scoring helped Germany winning Euro 1972 and the 1974 World Cup. With Bayern München he won four Bundesliga titles and four German cups.

11. Majed Abdullah, Saudi Arabia 67 goals (in 142 matches).

12. Jassem Al-Houwaidi, Kuwait 63 goals (in 74 matches).

13. Ronaldo, Brazil 62 goals (in 97 matches).
In 1994, the year Ronaldo turned 18, he both moved to play in Europe and made his debut for the Brazilian national side. He won his first Ballon d’Or (as European Footballer of the Year) in 1997 and the next in 2002. He and Zinedine Zidane are the only two players to three times have been voted FIFA Player of the Year. With Brazil Ronaldo won two World Cups (1994 & 2002). Ronaldo is the leading World Cup goal scorer with a total of 15 goals (one more than Gerd Müller and Miroslav Klose).
13. Miroslav Klose, Germany 62 goals (in 112 matches).

15. Hussein Saeed, Iraq 61 goals (in 126 matches).

16. Imre Schlosser, Hungary 59 goals (in 68 matches).

17. Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina 56 goals (in 78 matches).
17. Carlos Pavón, Honduras 56 goals (in 96 matches).

19. Romário, Brazil 55 goals (in 70 matches).
19. Kazuyoshi Miura, Japan 55 goals (in 89 matches).
19. Jan Koller, Czech Republic 55 goals (in 91 matches).
19. Joachim Streich, East Germany 55 goals (in 102 matches).
19. Bum-Kun Cha, South Korea 55 goals (in 121 matches).

24. Didier Drogba, Côte d’Ivoire 54 goals (in 83 matches).
24. Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon 54 goals (in 109 matches).

26. Robbie Keane, Ireland 53 goals (in 114 matches).
26. Adnan Al Talyani, United Arab Emirates 53 goals (in 164 matches).

28. Zico, Brazil 52 goals (in 72 matches).
28. Poul Nielsen, Denmark 52 goals (in 38 matches).
28. Jon Dahl Tomasson, Denmark 52 goals (in 112 matches).
Poul Nielsen played for Denmark between 1910-1925 and was part of the silver medal winning Danish team of the 1912 Olympics. Jon Dahl Tomasson played for Denmark between 1997-2010.

31. Lajos Tichy, Hungary 51 goals (in 72 matches).
31. David Villa, Spain 51 goals (in 82 matches)
31. Hakan Şükür, Turkey 51 goals (in 112 matches).
31. Thierry Henry, France 51 goals (in 123 matches).

35. Karim Baheri, Iran 50 goals (in 87 matches).

36. Bobby Charlton, England 49 goals (in 106 matches).
Manchester United’s legendary player performed as a midfielder for England betweeen 1959-1970, winning the World Cup in 1966. That year he was also awarded the Ballon d’Or. As England’s all-time top scorer he is closely followed by Gary Lineker (48 goals/80 matches), Jimmy Greaves (44 goals/57 matches) and Michael Owen (40 goals/89 matches).
Sir Bobby Charlton is also Manchester United’s all-time greatest goal scorer with 249 in 758 games. (Twelve more than Denis Law.)
36. Sven Rydell, Sweden 49 goals (in 43 matches).
Rydell played for Sweden between 1921-1932 and they won the bronze medal at the 1924 Olympics.

38. Włodzimierz Lubański, Poland 48 goals (in 75 matches).
38. Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgaria 48 goals (in 77 matches).
38. Gary Lineker, England 48 goals (in 80 matches).
Dimitar Berbatov is of course still active playing for Manchester United but he decided to retire from his national side in May 2010.

41. Rudi Völler, Germany 47 goals (in 90 matches).
41. Jürgen Klinsmann, Germany 47 goals (in 108 matches).
41. Pauleta, Portugal 47 goals (in 88 matches).
41. Hristo Bonev, Bulgaria 47 goals (in 96 matches).
41. Rolando Fonseca, Costa Rica 47 goals (in 107 matches).

46. Jared Borgetti, Mexico 46 goals (in 90 matches).
46. Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine 45 goals (in 108 matches).
46. Landon Donovan, USA 46 goals (in 138 matches).

49. Davor Šuker, Croatia 45 goals (in 69 matches).
49. Carlos Ruiz, Guatemala 45 goals (in 92 matches).
49. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Germany 45 goals (in 95 matches).
49. Grzegorz Lato, Poland 45 goals (in 100 matches).
Lato was the 1974 World Cup’s top scorer with 7 goals.

53. Toni Polster, Austria 44 goals (in 95 matches).
53. Raúl, Spain 44 goals (in 102 matches).
Raúl has been surpassed by David Villa as Spain’s top scorer but he is still superior as top scorer of the UEFA Champions League. Raúl has scored 70 goals in European club football’s premier competition. (Messi has by comparison so far scored 33 goals…). Raúl is also Real Madrid’s all-time leading goal scorer having netted 323 times for the club before moving to Schalke 04.

55. Gunnar Nordahl, Sweden 43 goals (in 33 matches).
55. Uwe Seeler, Germany 43 goals (in 72 matches).
55. Baichung Bhutia, India 43 goals (in 109 matches).

58. Alexander Frei, Switzerland 42 goals (in 82 matches).
58. Lukas Podolski 42 goals (in in 85 matches).
58. Michael Ballack, Germany 42 goals (in 98 matches).
58. Oleg Blokhin, Soviet Union 42 goals (in 112 matches).
Blokhin was a feared striker in the 1970s and early 80s. In 1975 he won the Ballon d’Or as European Footballer of the Year ahead of Beckenbauer and Cruyff.

62. Mágico González, El Salvador 41 goals (in 48 matches).
62. Eusébio, Portugal 41 goals (in 64 matches).
62. Michel Platini, France 41 goals (in 72 matches). (PICTURED ABOVE)
62. Kazimierz Deyna, Poland 41 goals (in 97 matches).
62. Hao Haidong, China 41 goals (in 115 matches).
Mágico González was a superb midfielder, who many thought would have been a superstar of the game had he been from a bigger footballing nation.
Eusébio was one of Europe’s greatest players in the 1960s. He was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 1965 and he was top scorer at the 1966 World Cup with 9 goals. Eusébio led Benfica to eleven Portuguese league titles and the 1962 European Cup. He is also the club’s all-time top scorer.
Michel Platini led France to the Euro 1984 title as a top goal scoring midfielder and Player of the Tournament. Just like he led Juventus to triumphs in Italy and Europe. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1983, 1984 and 1985. In 2007 he was elected as President of UEFA, a position he still holds today.
Kazimierz Deyna went down in history as one of the best marksmen in world football. However he still managed to also be his country’s third highest goal scorer from his midfield position.

67. Patrick Kluivert, Netherlands 40 goals (in 79 matches).
Kluivert played for the Dutch national team between 1994-2004 and is their all-time top scorer. He leads the list ahead of Dennis Bergkamp’s 37 goals (also in 79 matches). Players like Ruud van Nistelroy is currently 4th, Johan Cruyff 5th, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar 8th and Marco Van Basten 10th on the Dutch list.

David Luiz is a defender who plays for English side Chelsea and the Brazilian national team. Luiz joined Sao Paolo, one of Brazil’s great clubs, as a nine year old. Aged fourteen he was released to Esporte Clube Vitória, of lesser stature but with a very successful youth system. Five years later, in 2006, Luiz made his senior debut for Vitória. The 2006-07 season saw them earn promotion from the Serie C. Luiz contributed with several good performances but also had the season plagued by injuries.
In January 2007 Luiz moved to Portugal, on loan to Benfica. That move was made permanent ahead of the 2007-08 season. Luiz settled quickly at Benfica and was an important part of the team winning the Portuguese league cup in 2008-09 and again in 2009-10. The 2009-10 season Benfica also won the Portuguese league again for the first time in five years.

Luiz played his first match for Brazil in August 2010, in new coach Mano Menezes first match in charge.
On the last day of the January 2011 transfer window Luiz signed for Chelsea in a €25 million move from Benfica. He has been an instant favourite with the Chelsea fans. In his first five Premier League starts he has already been Man of the Match twice, against Fulham and Manchester City. He has also scored both against Manchester United and Manchester City. David Luiz turns 24 in exactly one month and the future looks bright for him, as part of the creation of a new Chelsea and a new Brazil.

Chelsea will meet Manchester United in an all-English UEFA Champions League quarter-final. The winner will face the winner of Internazionale vs Schalke 04 in the semi-final.

Real Madrid will play Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-final and in the semi-final they will play either Barcelona or Shakhtar Donetsk.

The first legs of the quarter finals will be played on April 5th/6th, the second legs on April 12/13th.
The semi-finals are to be played on April 26th/27th and May 3rd/4th. The 2011 UEFA Champions League final will take place at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday May 28th.

The four semi-finalists in the world’s oldest football tournament have been found. They will battle it out at Wembley Stadium on the 16th and 17th of April. We will get to witness the first ever Manchester derby to take place at Wembley, as United will take on City. Manchester United have been the most successful team in the cup, having reached the final on 18 occasions and won 11 of them. City have been in 8 finals and won four. The last win was in 1969 while the last defeat was in 1981 (when Ricky Villa’s memorable goal won it for Tottenham). Thirty years since the last final appearance will be something Roberto Mancini desperately wants to end. Mancini has the pressure on him to produce trophies for City and an FA Cup win would be an excellent start.

Both Manchester clubs are still in contention in three competitions. United also in the Champions League and still favourites to win the Premier League. City might not realistically have a chance at the Premier League title but are fighting to stay within the top 4, which would give them an opportunity to play in next season’s Champions League. At present they are also still playing in the Europa League.

In the other semi-final Bolton Wanderers, a giant of the past, are to play Stoke City. Bolton have played in six finals and won three. They last won in 1958 when they beat Manchester United 2-0, only three months after United had suffered terribly in the Munich air disaster. Bolton, who also comes from the greater Manchester area, were last in a FA Cup semi-final in 2000.
Stoke have never been in the final but they have three times reached the semi-finals. The last two times were in 1971 and 1972. After having lost their 1972 semi-final to Arsenal they went on to the play-off for third place. (That was part of a five-year experiment, a format which was abandoned.) Stoke lost that play-off to Birmingham after a penalty shoot-out, the first time this method was used to settle a match in the FA Cup. That same year Stoke won their only major trophy, by beating Chelsea in the League Cup final.

The FA Cup final will be played two months from today.

It could promise well for French football with a most equal season in Ligue 1. Contrary to what we see in the other major leagues in Europe, the French is a wide open race between five clubs this season.
Lille leads Stade Rennais with a better goal difference, both sitting on 49 points after 26 matches played and with 12 to go. Olympique Lyon and Olympique Marseille follow on 45 and Paris Saint-Germain on 44.
Old top clubs like AJ Auxerre, AS Monaco and AC Lens are all struggling in or near the relegation zone. One of the most successful clubs in French football, FC Nantes, have spent the past couple of seasons in Ligue 2 and are not looking to return to the top-flight any time soon.

While struggling FC Nantes have won Ligue 1 eight times, Stade Rennais are fighting in the top for their very first title. Lille haven’t won the title for 57 years, which was when they won their second league title. The followers of these two clubs are living the dream at the moment, just like Olympique Lyon’s started a decade ago. Lyon had, like many other clubs, only some French cup titles. Ligue 1 was up through the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s dominated by teams like Saint-Étienne, FC Nantes, AS Monaco, Bordeaux, Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Marseille. What happened with Olympique Lyon was that French businessman Jean-Michel Aulas bought the club in 1987. He transformed the club from an insolvent Ligue 2 team to one of the richest football clubs in the world. They won their first Ligue 1 title in the 2001/02 season and won it seven consequtive seasons, the last being in 2007/08. The 2008/09 title was won by Bordeaux, with Olympique Marseille as runners-up and Olympique Lyon dropped to third place. In the 2009/10 season Lyon were runners-up, the title taken by Olympique Marseille by a comfortable 6 points margin. That was Marseille’s 9th league title. Lyon however had Player of the Year in Argentinian striker Lisandro López, in his first season at the club. Lyon also had Goalkeeper of the Year in Hugo Lloris, who is first choice goalkeeper in the French national team.
Both Olympique Lyon and Olympique Marseille have made it to the last 16 in the UEFA Champions League this season. Marseille is the only French club to have won the Champions League, which happened in 1993. Paris Saint-Germain won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1996. Except for those two European successes, French teams have struggled to make any impact on the European stage. Lyon reached the semi-finals last season, while Monaco lost the 2004 final against Portuguese side Porto. Ironically it’s the French who have been behind the start of all the greatest football tournaments; Jules Rimet founded the World Cup, Henri Delaunay founded the European Championship, while Gabriel Hanot instigated the Ballon d’Or and the European Cup. All eyes are on the new talent of France while they’re battling it out in the French league.