![Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated world football in recent decades](https://www.infobae.com/new-resizer/wmUqKlDXO3_JmvBjclmLThx_9Mo=/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-infobae/public/2HSYY4RCQFF2LHTHRFQXSZJEDA.jpg)
“We were all outstanding and we changed football history”. cristiano ronaldo spoke in the last few hours about his relationship with Lionel Messi And left a strong message. Of course, there are more abstract aspects to debate about the influence of the two, but one part is indisputable: the dominance of each across different statistics.
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Week after week, they bid for the scepter top scorer in football history with portuguese At the age of 38, he topped the list with 850 works from 1,180 speeches Followed by the Argentinian The 36-year-old had 819 shouts in 1,040 games.
Among these shocking figures, there is another silent battle between Leo and CR7 Top scorer in national team history.According to data released by the agency International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS)the Portuguese were first and Argentina third.
inside In 201 games in a Portugal shirt, Ronaldo has scored 123 goals.Behind him is an Iranian Ali Daeiwho added 109 points in 149 games The national team jersey he reportedly wore between 1993 and 2006 IFFHS.
In the third tier, very close to a head-to-head confrontation with the Portuguese is Argentina’s top scorer in history: Lionel Messi. With the goal against Ecuador at the start of the South American qualifying round, 176 games to reach 104.
Of course, the controversy surrounding Dayi may soon be reignited, who He claimed there were actually 111 shouts, but FIFA didn’t count him double In the 2002 Asian Games against Afghanistan, he scored with the Olympic team rather than the adult team.
![During his extensive career, Ali Daei played for clubs including Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin in Germany (Photo: Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)](https://www.infobae.com/new-resizer/F9x8PEQ1863C8e8cIk_ykyObmS0=/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-infobae/public/CRHFLU74YNHQ3JNMIN444V5WII.jpg)
Some time ago, the famous statistics website also announced the list of players with the most appearances in the title defense: cristiano ronaldo (201 appearances for Portugal), Badr Mutawa (196 – Kuwait), Su Qing’an (195 – Malaysia), Ahmed Hassan (184 – Egypt), Ahmed Kano (183 – Oman), Sergio Ramos (180 – Spain), Andres Guardado (180 – Mexico), Claudio Suarez (177 – Mexico), Lionel Messi (176 – Argentina) and Gianluigi Buffon (176 – Italy) tops the list.
While waiting to know if he will be available for next Tuesday’s game Bolivia During his heyday in La Paz, Argentina Grid suggested Messi would play four more games for his country in 2023 to try and close the gap: Paraguay (October), Peru (October), Uruguay (November) and Brazil (November).
Since the new America’s Cup will be held in the United States from June 20 to July 14, 2024, the qualifying rounds will restart again at the end of 2024.
As for Cristiano, after this Friday’s game against Slovakia, the qualifying process for the European Cup will come to an end. Luxembourg (11/9), Slovakia (10/13), Bosnia (10/16), Liechtenstein (11/16) and Iceland (11/19) throughout 2023.
![With 123 goals and 201 appearances, Cristiano leads both statistics at national team level (Photo: AP/Armando Franca)](https://www.infobae.com/new-resizer/fcy4b22xq2FLd8EzlTbK_3RHng8=/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-infobae/public/YSUMXSDKF5C3PJWXDLAOIFNDOA.jpg)
Highest goals scored by the national team
1- Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal): 123 goals in 201 games*
2- Ali Daei (Iran): 109 goals in 149 games
3- Lionel Messi (Argentina): 104 goals in 176 games*
4- Mokhtar Dahari (Malaysia): 89 goals in 142 games
5- Sunil Chhetri (India): 87 goals in 137 games*
* They are active