Ali Daei has scored the second most men's international goals, with 109 goals in 149 caps.

Ali Daei is an Iranian former professional association football forward who formerly held the record of the all-time men's international top goalscorer, with 108 goals in 148 appearances between 1993 and 2006.^[1][2] He was originally credited with scoring 109 goals in 149 appearances for twenty years but, as of 2021, FIFA no longer recognises Iran's match against Ecuador's Olympic team on 12 January 2000 as official, therefore costing Daei one cap and one goal.^[3] His achievement is listed in Guinness World Records.^[4] On 28 November 2003, in an Asian Cup qualifier in Tehran against Lebanon, he scored his 85th international goal, elevating him past Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskás to take the lead of the all-time list of scorers in international matches.^[5][6]

Daei was called up to join the Iran national football team (also known as Team Melli) on 6 June 1993 in the 1993 ECO Cup tournament held in Tehran, where he made his debut in a match against Pakistan.^[7] His first international goal came in a 6–0 victory over Chinese Taipei on 25 June 1993 during qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.^[8] On 1 March 2006, his final goal came in a 3–2 victory over Costa Rica in a friendly match.^[9] His final appearance for Iran was in the 2006 FIFA World Cup against Angola on 21 June 2006 in the group stage.^[10]

He scored eight international hat-tricks. On 10 June 1996, he scored his first international hat-trick, in an 8–0 win over Nepal at Azadi Stadium in Tehran.^[11] On 17 November 2004, he scored the last one against Laos in a 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification match, giving him 102 goals and making him the first male player to score 100 goals in international football.^[12]

He scored 36 goals in FIFA World Cup qualification matches, 23 goals in AFC Asian Cup qualification games and 9 goals in Asian Games, as well as 14 goals in AFC Asian Cup Finals. The remainder of his goals, 27, were scored in friendly matches. He scored eight goals against two opposition teams, the Maldives and Laos, his highest tally against any country. He scored 44 international goals at the Azadi Stadium, his most at a single ground.^[7]

International goals

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.^[7]

No.	Date	Cap	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	25 June 1993	6	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Chinese Taipei	3–0	6–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification	[8]
2	4 July 1993	9	Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus, Syria	Chinese Taipei	3–0	6–0		[13]
3					4–0
4	18 October 1993	13	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Japan	2–0	2–1		[14]
5	22 October 1993	14		Iraq	1–1	1–2		[15]
6	25 October 1993	15		North Korea	1–1	2–1		[16]
7					2–1
8	30 May 1996	21	Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait	Kuwait	1–1	2–1	Friendly	[17]
9					2–1
10	10 June 1996	23	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Nepal	2–0	8–0	1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification	[11]
11					3–0
12					7–0
13					8–0
14	12 June 1996	24		Sri Lanka	1–0	7–0		[18]
15					3–0
16					4–0
17					6–0
18					7–0
19	14 June 1996	25		Oman	1–0	2–0		[19]
20	19 June 1996	27	Sultan Qaboos Stadium, Muscat, Oman	Nepal	1–0	4–0		[20]
21	21 June 1996	28		Oman	1–0	2–1		[21]
22	5 December 1996	30	Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Iraq	1–2‡	1–2	1996 AFC Asian Cup	[22]
23	8 December 1996	31		Thailand	3–0	3–0		[23]
24	11 December 1996	32		Saudi Arabia	1–0	3–0		[24]
25	16 December 1996	33		South Korea	3–2	6–2		[25]
26					4–2
27					5–2
28					6–2‡
29	21 December 1996	35	Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Kuwait	1–1	1–1[lower-alpha 1]		[26]
30	2 June 1997	36	Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus, Syria	Maldives	14–0	17–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification	[27]
31					15–0
32	4 June 1997	37		Kyrgyzstan	3–0	7–0		[28]
33	6 June 1997	38		Syria	1–0	1–0		[29]
34	11 June 1997	40	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Maldives	3–0	9–0		[30]
35					6–0
36	3 October 1997	45		Qatar	1–0	3–0		[31]
37	17 October 1997	46		China	4–0	4–1		[32]
38	16 November 1997	50	Larkin Stadium, Johor Bahru, Malaysia	Japan	2–1	2–3		[33]
39	5 December 1998	59	Sri Nakhon Lamduan Stadium, Sisaket, Thailand	Laos	5–1	6–1	1998 Asian Games	[34]
40					6–1
41	8 December 1998	60	Supachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Oman	1–0	2–4		[35]
42	10 December 1998	61		Tajikistan	1–0	5–0		[36][37]
43					5–0
44	12 December 1998	62		China	1–1	2–1		[38][37]
45	14 December 1998	63		Uzbekistan	2–0	4–0		[39]
46					3–0
47					4–0
48	4 June 1999	67	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada	Canada	1–0	1–0	1999 Canada Cup	[40]
49	8 September 1999	69	International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan	Japan	1–1	1–1	Friendly	[41]
50	9 January 2000	71	Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, United States	Mexico	1–1‡	1–2		[42]
—	12 January 2000	72	Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States	Ecuador	1–0	2–1	Unofficial Friendly	[43]
51	31 March 2000	73	Al-Hamadaniah Stadium, Aleppo, Syria	Maldives	5–0	8–0	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification	[44]
52					6–0
53					7–0
54	2 April 2000	74		Syria	1–0	1–0		[45]
55	9 April 2000	76	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Bahrain	3–0	3–0		[46]
56	13 April 2000	78		Maldives	3–0‡	3–0		[47]
57	7 June 2000	79		Egypt	1–1	1–1[lower-alpha 2]	2000 LG Cup	[48][49]
58	9 June 2000	80		Macedonia	2–1	3–1		[50]
59	27 September 2000	82	Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Qatar	1–0	2–1	Friendly	[51]
60					2–0
61	12 October 2000	83	Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon	Lebanon	4–0	4–0	2000 AFC Asian Cup	[52]
62	15 October 2000	84		Thailand	1–1	1–1		[53]
63	18 October 2000	85	Saida Municipal Stadium, Sidon, Lebanon	Iraq	1–0	1–0		[54]
64	24 November 2000	87	Takhti Stadium, Tabriz, Iran	Guam	7–0‡	19–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	[55]
65					10–0
66					15–0
67					18–0
68	28 November 2000	88		Tajikistan	1–0	2–0		[56]
69	19 January 2001	89	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	China	1–0	4–0	Ancient Civilization Cup	[57]
70	8 August 2001	91		Oman	4–0‡	5–2	2001 LG Cup	[58]
71	10 August 2001	92		Bosnia and Herzegovina	3–0	4–0		[59]
72					4–0
73	24 August 2001	94		Saudi Arabia	1–0‡	2–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	[60]
74					2–0
75	7 September 2001	96	Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad, Iraq	Iraq	2–1	2–1		[61]
76	28 September 2001	98	Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	1–1	2–2		[62]
77	21 October 2001	101	Bahrain National Stadium, Manama, Bahrain	Bahrain	1–2	1–3		[63]
78	31 October 2001	102	Al-Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates	1–0	3–0		[64]
79	21 August 2002	107	NSC Olimpiyskiy, Kyiv, Ukraine	Ukraine	1–0	1–0	Friendly	[65]
80	19 September 2002	108	Takhti Stadium, Tabriz, Iran	Paraguay	1–1	1–1[lower-alpha 3]	2002 LG Cup	[66]
81	5 September 2003	111	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Jordan	1–1	4–1	2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification	[67]
82					4–1
83	19 November 2003	115	Municipal Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon	Lebanon	1–0‡	3–0		[68]
84	28 November 2003	116	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Lebanon	1–0	1–0		[69]
85	2 December 2003	117	Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait	Kuwait	1–3	1–3	Friendly	[70]
86	18 February 2004	118	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Qatar	3–0‡	3–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification	[71]
87	31 March 2004	119	Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos	Laos	1–0	7–0		[72]
88					2–0‡
89	17 June 2004	121	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Lebanon	1–0‡	4–0	2004 WAAF Championship	[73][74]
90					2–0
91					3–0
92	21 June 2004	122		Syria	1–0	7–1		[75][74]
93	25 June 2004	124		Syria	2–1	4–1		[76][74]
94	20 July 2004	125	Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China	Thailand	3–0‡	3–0	2004 AFC Asian Cup	[77]
95	6 August 2004	130	Workers Stadium, Beijing, China	Bahrain	3–2‡	4–2		[78]
96					4–2
97	8 September 2004	131	Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan	Jordan	2–0	2–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification	[79]
98	17 November 2004	132	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Laos	1–0	7–0		[80]
99					2–0
100					3–0
101					4–0
102	18 December 2004	133		Panama	1–0‡	1–0	Friendly	[81]
103	2 February 2005	134		Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–1	2–1		[82]
104	17 August 2005	140	International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan	Japan	1–2‡	1–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification	[83]
105	24 August 2005	141	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Libya	3–0	4–0	Friendly	[84]
106	13 November 2005	142		Togo	1–0‡	2–0	2005 LG Cup	[85]
107	22 February 2006	143		Chinese Taipei	4–0	4–0	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification	[86]
108	1 March 2006	144		Costa Rica	2–0	3–2	Friendly	[87]

_{Note: Daei was previously credited with scoring against Ecuador however FIFA no longer recognise this match as official as Ecuador played their Olympic team, rather than their full 'A' international side.^[3]}

Hat-tricks

Daei's last hat-trick against Laos allowed him to become the first male player to score 100 goals in international football.

Hat-tricks table

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Goals	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	10 June 1996	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Nepal	4 – (14', 36', 84', 87')	8–0	1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification	[11][88]
2	12 June 1996		Sri Lanka	5 – (30', 64', 65', 70', 77')	7–0		[18][88]
3	16 December 1996	Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai	South Korea	4 – (66', 77', 82', 89' pen.)	6–2	1996 AFC Asian Cup	[89][88]
4	14 December 1998	National Stadium, Bangkok	Uzbekistan	3 – (83', 88', 90')	4–0	1998 Asian Games	[37]
5	31 March 2000	Al-Hamadaniah Stadium, Aleppo	Maldives	3 – (39', 61', 72')	8–0	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification	[90]
6	24 November 2000	Takhti Stadium, Tabriz	Guam	4 – (35' pen., 44', 52', 74')	19–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	[91][92]
7	17 June 2004	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Lebanon	3 – (15' pen., 61', 88')	4–0	2004 WAAF Championship	[74]
8	17 November 2004		Laos	4 – (7', 19', 27', 58')	7–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification	[93][94]

Statistics

Source:^[7]

Goals by year Year Apps Goals 1993 16 7 1994 1 0 1995 0 0 1996 18 22 1997 17 9 1998 13 9 1999 5 2 2000 18 19 2001 16 10 2002 4 2 2003 9 5 2004 16 17 2005 9 4 2006 6 2 Total 148 108

Goals by competition Competition Goals Friendlies 26 AFC Asian Cup qualification 23 AFC Asian Cup Finals 14 Asian Games 9 FIFA World Cup qualification 36 Total 108 Goals by confederation Confederation Teams Goals AFC 24 95 UEFA 3 5 CONCACAF 4 4 CAF 3 3 CONMEBOL 1 1 Total 36 108

Goals by opposition Opposition Goals  Maldives 8  Laos 8  Lebanon 6  Sri Lanka 5    Nepal 5  Guam 4  South Korea 4  Chinese Taipei 4  Syria 4  Iraq 4  Japan 4  Kuwait 4  Bahrain 4  Saudi Arabia 4  Oman 4  Qatar 4  Uzbekistan 3  China 3  Tajikistan 3  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3  Jordan 3  Thailand 3  North Korea 2  Canada 1  United Arab Emirates 1  Ukraine 1  Egypt 1  Mexico 1  Costa Rica 1  Panama 1  Togo 1  Paraguay 1  Libya 1  Macedonia 1  Kyrgyzstan 1 Total 108

Footnotes

See also

• List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals
• List of top international men's association football goal scorers by country
• List of hat-tricks
• List of footballers with 100 or more caps

References

External links

• Profile at national football teams
• Profile at Teammelli.com