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International football is being played at its most furious and most serious right now. The World Cup begins in another twelve months and teams from every continent are giving their best to earn their representation in Qatar.
Fans have their fair share of complaints from international football because it's not as scintillating or as fast-paced as club football usually is.
But the players give their everything to wear the colors of their respective countries and make them proud. The passion is evidently visible when players take to the field and with the qualifying stages entering the crunch phase there was no shortage of drama.
Football is incomplete without goals and since this year was packed with the Euro Championship, Copa America and World Cup Qualifiers among other competitions, we saw plenty of them. So it's only fair to see which teams around the world have been scoring for fun and who we must watch out for.
On that note, here are the 10 international teams that have scored the most goals in the calendar year of 2021 at the time of publishing:
#10 Belgium - 39 goals
Roberto Martinez and co. sealed their spot in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar with a 3-1 victory over Estonia. The heartache from Euro 2020 will be fresh for Belgium, who were expected to go deep into the competition but bowed out in the quarter-finals.
In the 2018 World Cup, the Red Devils finished third, their personal best in the history of the tournament. They will be aiming to enter the finals in Qatar this time as the top ranked team in FIFA rankings. This year they have participated in the Euro, the Nations League and the World Cup qualifiers.
Belgium's wait for a major honor continues after they spilled their chances of making the finals in the UEFA Nations League, losing 3-2 to France. They even lost the match for third-place to Italy by a scoreline of 2-1. Despite that, it is Belgium who make it to this list of top 10 scoring sides and not France or Italy.
Belgium have scored 39 goals in the total this calendar year and have played 17 matches.
#9 Panama - 40 goals
The CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers are halfway through the fixtures and Panama would be happy to sit fourth right now. The team earned their first qualification to the World Cup last time around in Russia. A straight second qualification would help the morale of the country by a great margin.
They have contested this year's Gold Cup and the World Cup qualifiers. Having played 19 games the team has managed to wrack up an impressive 40 goals. It's a squad that relies heavily on their experienced players to score goals.
Cecilio Waterman, Gabriel Torres and Rolando Blackburn are all above the age of 30 and frequent goal-getters for their national side. Panama finished third in their Gold Cup group stage and will be aware that they cannot take World Cup qualification lightly from this stage.
Their final fixture of the calendar year was against Costa Rica, which they won by a narrow margin of 2-1. However, a two-goal return from 27 shots taken would worry coach Thomas Tarin. They're sitting in the playoff spot right now and will try to edge past Mexico to make it to the automatic qualification position.
#8 Algeria - 40 goals
The only team from Africa to make it to this list and that by scoring at an exceptional rate of 40 goals from 11 games in 2021. Algeria are playing some seriously entertaining football and are unbeaten in their CAF World Cup qualifying group.
They are running riot having scored 25 goals in just six of their Group A games. There are some renowned names in their camp who play for top European sides like Riyad Mahrez, Said Benrahma, Islam Slimani and Ismael Bennacer. Algeria drew against Burkina Faso to ensure they made it to the 10-team playoffs, which will be played in March.
The African team are on a dream run with a total of 33 games unbeaten in all competitions, including friendlies. Mahrez and Slimani are their top scorers this calendar year with eight and nine goals respectively. Their impressive streak also makes them one of the favorites for the Africa Cup of Nations starting in January.
#7 Japan - 41 goals
After the only African team, we move towards the only Asian team to make it to this list. Japan have only played their Asian qualifiers this year in international football and they have played them in some style. The Samurai Blue started their calendar year with a 14-0 thumping of Mongolia in March.
They followed up as they ran riot against Myanmar, leaving them ailing with a 10-0 scoreline in May. In the final round for a World Cup place, four teams from Asia will make it to Qatar by finishing in the top two in the two respective groups. Japan has only lost to Saudi Arabia so far and sits in second spot.
Junya Ito is seen as one of the most potent sources of goals in the Japan side having twice scored the match winner in their last two ties. Japan won both the games by a narrow margin of 1-0.
#6 USA - 43 goals
The USMNT boasts some serious young talent in their squad and it will be exciting to see if they can hold on to the World Cup qualification spots. Their Gold Cup triumph was an example of how they can grind out wins in tough situations but the bigger picture will worry them a bit.
In the six matches that USA played in the Gold Cup, they won five of those with a narrow scoreline of 1-0, including the final. So it would seem that they are doing just enough to get over the line. Gregg Berhalter's team are buoyed by the Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League titles and that momentum will be useful.
Having played 21 games this calendar year, their goal tally stands at 43. Ricardo Pepi has been their top goal-getter in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers. Having missed out on the Russia 2018 World Cup, the USA are likely to secure their ticket to Qatar as they sit in second spot halfway through the qualification stage.
#5 Denmark - 45 goals
After emerging as a surprise package at Euro 2020 with their semi-final run, Denmark have kept their spirits high and qualified for the World Cup in Qatar. The Danes had the chance to end their qualifiers with a perfect run but high-flying Scotland handed them their only loss.
That should hardly concern Denmark, who have scored 45 goals this calendar year in the 18 matches that they have played. Joakim Maehle and Andreas Olsen have been their top performers, providing crunch goals and assists.
The likes of Kasper Schmeichel and Simon Kjaer have been great leaders of the team and could be playing their final World Cup in 2022. Kasper Hjulmand's side are a very entertaining team to watch and it would be interesting to see if they can surprise everyone in Qatar.
#4 Netherlands - 46 goals
The Dutch finally ended their eight-year-long absence from the World Cup by sealing the last spot available for automatic qualification. Louis van Gaal took over a struggling Netherlands team who bowed out of Euro 2020 in the last 16.
The experienced Dutchman has papered over the cracks that were visible under Frank de Boer. Under his reign they have drawn two games and won five. In total, 'Oranje' have scored 46 goals in their 16 games in 2021. Memphis Depay has been in red hot form and has registered 18 goal contributions in 10 qualifying matches.
Van Gaal has handed debut to emerging prospect Noa Lang, who plays for Club Brugge and has shown his willingness to help nurture raw talent. However, Denzel Dumfries, one of their brightest players at the Euro 2020 has witnessed a dip in form since his move to Inter.
The Dutch camp will be hoping their top players can stay fit and manage their work load as the Qatar World Cup nears.
#3 Germany - 50 goals
With Hansi Flick on board, Germany now look like a serious opposition that could put their recent underachieving feats to bed and aim higher at Qatar. His unbeaten record has stayed intact since taking over the national side. The German side are playing the best football that they have in recent times.
The turnaround in their fortunes has been quick and worthy of all the praise. Having suffered a humiliating 6-0 loss to Spain and an early exit from Euro 2020, fans will be happy with the way they have wrapped up the year. Overall, this year Germany scored a half-century of goals in just 16 games.
Their biggest win of these World Cup qualifiers came against Liechtenstein last week when they battered them 9-0. Leon Goretzka and Ilkay Gundogan have ensured that assists and goals keep on coming from the middle of the park. Up front, Flick has been delighted to combine with his former Bayern Munich attackers Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry.
#2 England - 51 goals
There is perhaps no other team right now that is brimming with quality options in every position as England are. The Three Lions ended their calendar year with a 10-0 mauling of San Marino, scoring ten times in a game after 57 years. Thanks to that victory they end the year as the second highest scoring team with 51 goals in 19 matches played.
Gareth Southgate and co. will have to put their Euro 2020 heartache behind them and keep their heads high as Qatar approaches. England finished their campaign unbeaten in the qualifiers having drawn twice, once each with Poland and Hungary.
Harry Kane ended his year on a strong foot with the Three Lions, scoring 16 goals in the entire year. Southgate has a plethora of options with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Conor Gallagher and Aaron Ramsdale all proving their worth in the Premier League.
It will be also interesting to see whether Trent Alexander-Arnold will be able to make himself the favorite to start over Reece James at Qatar. The biggest positive with England looks to be the quality of options and great depth, with each player pushing the other to perform at their best.
#1 Canada - 55 goals
While the USMNT were busy gathering praise for their multiple titles this year, Canada were busy providing great entertainment for our money. The Canadian team has scored the most goals in this calendar year, a grand total of 55 in 19 matches.
They played against Mexico in their final game of 2021 in freezing conditions and emerged 2-1 winners. This was their first victory over Mexico in 20 years. They sit at the top of the CONCACAF World Cup qualification table, edging the USA by one point.
John Herdman's side have been rampant against weaker teams since the start of the year. They beat the Cayman Islands by a massive margin of 11-0 and followed it with a 7-0 victory over Aruba. Cyle Larin and Jonathan David have been leading their frontline with a fiesty attitude. The former has scored 11 goals and the latter has scored seven.
Bayern Munich sensation Alphonso Davies has done his country extremely proud by notching eight assists and scoring five himself. It's a well balanced team and one that is on the younger side with just two players over thirty.
The Canadian men's team last made an appearance in a World Cup way back in 1986. This bunch of boys have shown they have the capacity to perform on the big stage and seem poised to make history.
