Top scorers in Fifa World Cup Qualifiers: Ronaldo tops the list

Dubai: When it comes to World Cup qualifiers, a handful of players have left their mark by scoring goals season after season and carrying their nations through tough campaigns. These five legends stand at the very top of the all-time scoring charts in Fifa World Cup qualifying history.

1. Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala)

Known to fans as “El Pescado” (“The Fish”), Carlos Ruiz remains a legend of World Cup qualifying. He struck 39 goals, a tally that makes him the joint all-time leader despite the fact that Guatemala has never reached the tournament itself. Ruiz carried his national team for over a decade, becoming both their most-capped player and all-time leading scorer. At club level, he made his mark in Major League Soccer, where his debut season with the LA Galaxy in 2002 earned him both the Golden Boot and the league MVP award.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

Cristiano Ronaldo stands alongside Carlos Ruiz at the top with 39 World Cup qualifying goals. For Portugal, his impact has been enormous, often dragging the team through difficult campaigns with goals when it mattered most. A five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Ronaldo’s career is full of records across almost every competition he has played in, from the Champions League to the European Championships. In qualifying, he has been just as relentless. Uefa lists him as Europe’s all-time leading scorer in World Cup qualifiers, a reminder that even after two decades at the highest level, his hunger for goals has never faded.

3. Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Lionel Messi has 36 goals in World Cup qualifiers, the most by any Argentine. Time and again, he has been the difference-maker in tight campaigns, keeping Argentina’s hopes alive when pressure was at its peak. For a player whose career is already stacked with club and international records, his qualifying numbers often get overlooked. Yet they underline how central he has been to Argentina’s journey to every major tournament.

4. Ali Daei (Iran)

Ali Daei remains one of the most iconic figures in Asian football. He scored 35 goals in World Cup qualifying, part of a career that also saw him become the first man to reach 100 international goals. Known for his power in the air and instinct inside the box, Daei carried Iran through an era when Asian football was still fighting for global recognition. He also broke barriers in Europe, becoming the first Asian player to feature in the Champions League, paving the way for others to follow.

5. Robert Lewandowski (Poland)

Robert Lewandowski sits fifth on the list with 32 qualifying goals, and he has done it in typical fashion: with ruthless consistency. Poland’s all-time leading scorer, Lewandowski produced one of the most memorable campaigns in 2018 when he found the net 16 times, a single-campaign record. Beyond the numbers, he has been Poland’s talisman for more than a decade, delivering goals at the exact moments his country needed them most.