Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri produced another inspiring display as his brace helped the Blue Tigers beat Bangladesh 2-0 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers. It was India’s first win in two years.
A brace on the night took Sunil Chhetri’s international goals for India to 74 meaning that he surpassed Argentina’s Lionel Messi. Chhetri is now among the highest goal-scorers of all-time in international football.
The Indian captain finds himself in an elite company among the all-time top scorers in international football. Former Iran center-forward, Ali Daei scored 109 goals during his career which is the most goals in international football.
Most international goals in football
| No. | Player | Country | Goals |
| 1. | Ali Daei | Iran | 109 |
| 2. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 104 |
| 3. | Ferenc Puskas | Hungary | 84 |
| 4. | Kunishige Kamamoto | Japan | 80 |
| 5. | Godfrey Chitalu | Zambia | 79 |
| 6. | Hussein Saeed | Iraq | 78 |
| 7. | Pele | Brazil | 77 |
| 8. | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 75 |
| 9. | Bashar Abdullah | Kuwait | 75 |
| 10. | Sunil Chhetri | India | 74 |
For the most goals in international football among current players, Sunil Chhetri is now only behind Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 103 goals for his national team till date.
Highest active goalscorers in international football
| No. | Player | Country | Goals |
| 1. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 103 |
| 2. | Ali Mabkhout | United Arab Emirates | 75 |
| 3. | Sunil Chhetri | India | 74 |
| 4. | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 73 |
| 5. | Robert Lewandowski | Poland | 66 |
Chhetri’s brace on Monday meant that Messi slipped to fourth for goals by active players after the United Arab Emirates' Ali Mabkhout took his tally to 73 goals following his goal against Malaysia last week. The Argentina captain, on the other hand, scored his 72nd international goal against Chile last Thursday.
Featured photo: Twitter / Indian Football
