#1 Ali Daei (Iran) - 109 goals
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The record for the most number of international goals scored is actually held by an Asian footballer – Ali Daei. Ali Daei was one of the most highly regarded Asian striker of his generation and is widely considered to be Iran’s greatest footballer of all time.
In an international career lasting 13 years, Daei scored 109 goals in 149 appearances for the national which makes him the nation’s all time top scorer. His 149 appearances was a national record too before being overtaken by former Iranian captain Javad Nekounam a year ago.
Daei made his national team debut against Pakistan in 1993 at the age of 24 and scored his first international goal 19 days later in a 1994 World Cup qualifying match against Chinese Taipei. Daei’s first tournament with Iran was the 1996 AFC Asian Cup where Iran ended third and Daei was the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals.
Daei led Iran to successive gold medals at the Asian Games in 1998 and 2002, scoring eight goals in the former. Daei scored a total of nine goals during the 1998 World Cup qualifiers to help Iran reach their first ever FIFA World Cup.
Daei broke Ferenc Puskas’ record of 84 goals in 2003 and became the leading international goal scorer of all time.
He became the first footballer to score 100 international goals in 2004. Daei retired from the national team in 2006 following the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
