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The domestic season has been over for a couple of weeks and international fixtures have been afoot. The UEFA Nations League has commenced, while AFCON qualifications have also begun. Meanwhile, Argentina also won the CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions (also known as the Finalissima) against Italy.
But the South American side were not the only ones to achieve a feat this month as England's Harry Kane also managed to score his 50th international goal. Although the two achievements are nowhere close, the Englishman will be proud of this feat, especially since very few people manage to score 50 international goals for their country.
On that note, let's take a look at the five players who took the fewest matches to score 50 international goals.
#5 Lionel Messi- 121 matches
Lionel Messi recently led his country to victory in the Finalissima as the Argentinian maestro provided two assists in the 3-0 victory against Italy.
The Paris Saint-Germain ace has been brilliant for his country since making his debut for them in August 2005. A year later, he also became the youngest Argentine to play and score for his country at the World Cup. Hence, the boy was always destined for greatness and has not let anybody down as he has 86 goals to his name till now.
The winger is also getting better with age as he scored his first 50 goals for Argentina in 121 games. However, the remaining 36 strikes have come in just 41 games, which is a good sign as La Albiceleste look to bring the FIFA World Cup home this year.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo- 114 matches
Cristiano Ronaldo is a goal-scoring machine and his numbers speak for themselves. Although he is already a legend on the domestic stage, his performances on the international stage have not been too shabby either.
The Portuguese superstar broke Ali Daei's record last year by becoming the highest international goal-scorer. Ronaldo currently has 117 international goals to his name, with only 1/6th of them coming in friendlies. Thus, the centre-forward shows up for his team when they really need him.
Like Messi, Ronaldo has also been ageing like fine wine, as evident by the fact that he has scored 67 goals in his last 74 games. However, his first 50 goals did take a while, as he took 114 games to hit that mark. Regardless, the striker started his international career as a teenager and has since fulfilled the expectations of his nation.
#3 Robert Lewandowski- 81 matches
Robert Lewandowski might be set to leave Bayern Munich this summer but before doing so, he needs to ensure Poland perform well in their UEFA Nations League Group.
The centre-forward is the country's talisman and has been one for the last decade or so. Since making his debut for the national team in 2008, Lewandowski hasn't looked back and has scored 76 goals in 131 games for Poland. A one-man team on occasion, the striker knows where the back of the net lies and performs at his utmost best when playing for the national badge.
Lewandowski was rather quick to reach 50 international goals as he achieved the feat in just 81 matches. Since hitting that mark, he has scored another 26 strikes in 50 games, indicating that he is still going strong.
#2 Neymar Jr- 74 matches
For all the criticism that comes his way, Neymar Jr. is certain to go down as one of the most gifted players of his generation. The Samba boy has several tricks up his sleeve and has showcased them on the international stage time and again.
The talented winger broke into the Brazilian national team at the age of 18 and ended up scoring his first 50 goals for the country in just 74 games. During this period, he won the Confederations Cup for his country while also taking them to the 2014 FIFA World Cup semi-final, albeit he could not feature in that fixture due to an injury.
Since then, he has scored 24 goals in 45 games, thereby taking his international tally to 74 goals. Neymar is still only 30 and will dream of scoring 100 international goals before he hangs up his boots. However, for now, his eyes will be set on helping Brazil lift the FIFA World Cup in Qatar this year.
#1 Harry Kane- 71 matches
Harry Kane is the most recent member to have joined this list as the Englishman scored his 50th goal for his country in the 1-1 tie against Germany.
In doing so, the Tottenham Hotspur star became the quickest player to score 50 international goals as he did so in just 71 matches. In fact, only six of these strikes have come in friendlies, with the majority of them coming in the qualifying rounds of the FIFA World Cup and the European Championship.
That is not to say that Kane did not show up on the big stage as he did win the Golden Boot at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The 28-year-old star will hope to repeat the feat this year as well but will aim to help his country bring home the gold too.
