Australia Top Scorers of All Time

If there is no

Australia top scorer in Euro 2020

, there is, indeed, an Australia top scorer in 2021 which is Mitchell Duke with 5 goals. However, this Australia top scorer in 2021 is not among the footballers who occupy the first 20 positions on the list of Australia top scorers of all time.

Duke is indeed among the Australia national football team players at least for now - he’s been serving Australian national team since 2013, however, being Australia top scorer in 2021 doesn’t mean one should necessarily end up among the Australia top scorers of all time as is the case with Mitchell Duke.

A List of Australia Top Scorers of All Time

One interesting fact here is that none of the Australia national football team players has ever managed to score 50 goals for his country’s national team, even those who top the list of Australia top scorers of all time, however, there is only one player, actually Australia top goal scorer ever, who has got very close to that number. Let’s see who that Australia top goal scorer is.

Tim Cahill (49 Goals) 

If you’re a football fan, you might have already guessed that Tim Cahill is Australia top goal scorer ever, if not, then we will assure you that he is with 49 goals scored for his country’s national team. And he sits strongly at the top of the list of Australia top scorers of all time with a margin of 20 goals from the second position occupied by George Smith who only scored 29 goals for Australia during his career.

Cahill scored all his 49 international goals in 103 appearances which gets him a goal to appearance ratio of 0.48 meaning that the 41-year-old retired Australian forward scored almost one goal (exactly 0.96) in every two appearances that he made for his country’s national team. Cahill is not only

Australia top goal scorer

ever but also one of the most decorated Australian footballers ever if not actually the most decorated one with some club trophies but a number of individual honors and records to his name.

Though never won a Ballon d’Or trophy, Cahill is one of the few Australian footballers nominated for the prize; actually once in 2006. He’s the first Australian footballer to score at three FIFA World Cups, namely 2006, 2010, and 2014 editions of the competition, and also the Australian footballer with Most World Cup goals (5). From among all the 49 international goals Cahill scored 25 (51%) were scored in World Cup qualification rounds, 13 (26%) in international friendlies, 6 (12%) in

, and 5 (10%) in World Cup itself. He also provided 5 assists, and received 15 yellow cards and one red card during his international career.

George Smith (29 Goals)

As some sources say, George Smith was born in 1907 or 1908. If so, then he’s more than a hundred years old by now and actually the oldest footballer on the list of Australia top scorers of all time, however, it seems there is no evidential information concerning this footballer as some sources say he scored 29 goals in 13 appearances for the Australian national team and some 16 goals in 6 appearances. In both cases, Smith gets a high goal-to-appearance ratio of 2.2 to 2.6 meaning that he scored even more than 2 goals in every appearance for his country’s national team. Again, as some sources say, Smith was Australia’s all-time top scorer up until 1973 that his record was equalized by Attila Abonyi who scored his 16th goal for Australia in March 1973.

Damian Mori (26 Goals)

Just like in case of George Smith, there is controversy concerning the number of goals Damian Mori scored, too, though not with a big difference. Some sources say he actually scored 29 goals in 45 appearances getting a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.64 and occupies the second position on the list of

Australia top scorers of all time

while some other sources believe he scored 26 goals in 28 appearances getting a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.93 and is actually Australia’s third top scorer of all time after George Smith.

Whatever the truth, Mori is one of Australia’s top three scorers of all time. If we take what the latter sources say about his goalscoring records as true (26 Goals), then his detailed records are as below: 10 goals (38%) in World Cup qualification rounds, 14 (53%) in OFC Nations Cup 1996, 1 (3%) in international friendlies and 1 in Confederations Cup. He also received 2 yellow cards during his international career which lasted from 1992 to 2002. It should also be mentioned here that Mori was a top scorer at club level, too, and became NSL - predecessor to A-League - top scorer in five seasons.

Archie Thompson (26 Goals)

While some sources say Archie Thompson is third on the list of Australia top scorers of all time, others say he’s fourth and again, in respect to the number of goals scored by him and in how many appearances there is also some disagreement: Some sources say he scored 26 goals in 46 appearances with a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.57 - a little bit more than one goal in every two appearances for his country’s national team, while some other sources say he scored 27 or 28 goals in 54 appearances and with a lower goal-to-appearance ratio (0.5).

If we take the claim of former sources as true, then Thompson’s detailed goalscoring stats will be as follows: 20 goals (76%) in World Cup qualification rounds, 2 (7%) in international friendlies, and 4 (15%) in East Asian Football Championship 2013. He also made appearances in AFC Asian Cup, Asian Cup qualification rounds, and Confederations Cup, but scored no goals in them. And he made only two assists and received one yellow card during his international career.

Just like Cahill, Thompson is also a record holder, though unlike Cahill, only a handful of them. With the 13 goals he scored against Samoa in a World Cup qualification match in 2011 which actually ended in Australia’s 31-0 win, he actually became the record holder for most goals scored in an international match by an Australian footballer; the record that he has held up to this date (2021). And he’s also the record holder for most goals scored in a single

match (5).

Attila Abonyi (25 Goals)

About how many goals Attila Abonyi scored during his international career all sources agree: 25, and that means he should occupy the 5th place on the list of Australia top scorers of all time. Abonyi scored all his 25 goals in 61 appearances for the Australian national team between 1967 and 1977 which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.42 meaning that the 75-year-old retired Australian footballer scored a little bit more than 2 goals (exactly 2.1) in every 5 appearances that he made for his country’s national team. Abonyi scored 19 of his international goals in international friendlies and 6 of them in World Cup qualification rounds, but although he made 2 appearances in World Cup, too, he never scored a goal in the global competition. He also never received a yellow or red card during his international career.

John Kosmina (25 Goals)

Sharing the same place on the list of Australia top scorers of all time (5th) with Attila Abonyi, John Kosmina is a 65-year-old retired footballer who served the

sometime between 1976 and 1988 with his international goalscoring record being almost identical to that of Abonyi: He scored 25 goals in 60 appearances which gets him the same goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.42, however, unlike Abonyi who scored most of his international goals in international friendlies (19) and less of them in World Cup qualification rounds (6), Kosmina scored most of his international goals in World Cup qualification rounds (13) and less of them international friendlies (3) with the rest of his goals being scored in Australian cups. And while Abonyi received no yellow or red card during his international career Kosmina received 2 yellow cards and one red card during his service to the Australian national team.

John Aloisi (24 Goals)

While some sources believe that John Aloisi scored only 24 international goals, other sources say the exact number is 27 and if we take the latter as true, then Aloisi should occupy the third place on the list of

Australia top scorers of all time

after the second position, George Smith. The difference comes from the fact that some sources say Aloisi scored 2 goals in international friendlies while other sources say he scored 5 goals, but they all agree upon the number of goals he scored in World Cups and World Cup qualification rounds which is 16. And the rest of his international goals were scored in AFC Asian Cup (1) and Confederations Cup (5).

All in all, Aloisi scored all his either 24 or 27 goals in either 45 or 55 appearances, respectively, which gets him an international goal-to-appearance ratio of either 0.49 or 0.53, again respectively, that are very near to each other and mean that the 45-year-old retired Australian-Italian footballer scored around one goal in every two appearances that he made for the Australian national team. He also served

and U20 teams some time in 2004 and 1992, respectively, scoring 3 goals in 7 appearances for the former and one goal in six appearances for the latter in the process. And it should also be mentioned here that during his senior international career, Aloisi provided 3 assists and received 5 yellow cards but no red card.

David Zdrilic (20 Goals)

Most of the sources believe David Zdrilic scored 20 goals for the Australian national team during his international career, however, there are a few sources that say he scored 17 international goals. The difference comes again from the goals he scored in international friendlies. Those who believe he scored 20 international goals say he scored 3 goals in international friendlies while those who believe he scored 17 goals say he scored no goals in international friendlies. Both sources, however, say he scored 15 goals in World Cup qualification rounds and 2 goals in OFC Nations Cup 2000.

17 goals in 21 appearances and 20 goals in 31 appearances; this is what the sources say about Zdrilic’s international goals. The former gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.81 meaning that he almost scored 2.5 goals (exactly 2.43) in every 3 international appearances and the latter gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.65 meaning that he scored almost two goals (exactly 1.95) in the same number of appearances. What one can get from both of these ratios is that Zdrilic was a prolific goalscorer at least at international level as he really was. And it should be mentioned here that the 47-year-old retired Australian footballer received 1 yellow card during his international career and that he also served Australia beach soccer team sometime in 2013 - after his retirement in 2010 - where he managed to score 21 goals in 11 appearances for them.

Mile Jedinak (19 Goals)

The difference between what several sources say about Mile Jedinak’s international goals and appearances is so trivial it can almost be ignored. While most sources say Jedinak scored 19 goals in his  74 international appearances, few other sources say that he scored 20 goals in 79 appearances for his country’s national team. The former claim gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.26 and the latter 0.25 meaning that - for both of them - that the 37-year-old retired Australian-Croatian footballer scored around one goal in every four appearances for his country’s national team.

From among all the 19 goals Jedinak scored for the Australian national team 3 (15%) were scored in international friendlies, 10 (52%) in World Cup qualification rounds, 3 in AFC Asian Cup, and 3 in World Cup. Jedinak also provided one assist and received 15 yellow cards - almost one yellow card in every 5 appearances - during his international career. He was also part of the Australian national team who won the 2015 edition of 2015 AFC Asian Cup and was named Asian International Footballer of the Year in 2014.

Graham Arnold (18 Goals)

The difference between the number of goals several sources claim Graham Arnold scored for Australia is almost high: While most sources say he scored 18 goals for the Australian national team, there are a few sources that say the real number is 8 - a difference of 10 goals. However, we take what most sources claim as true, and based on that we should say that Graham’s international goals were scored in the following competitions as mentioned in front of each: FIFA World Cup 8, international friendlies 3, Presidents Cup 5, Olympics 5, Trans Tasman Cup 2, and Ampol Cup 1.

All Graham’s international goals were actually scored in 60 appearances which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.3 meaning that the 58-year-old retired Australian footballer scored almost one goal (exactly 0.9) in every 3 appearances for his country’s national team. Graham only received one yellow card during his 12-year international career which lasted  from 1985 to 1997. He’s the only footballer on the list to have managed the Australian national team and also Australian U23 team in different time periods between 2000 and 2021; actually as an assistant and caretaker.

Ray Baartz (18 Goals)

One of

Australia national football team players

between 1967 and 1974, Ray Baartz is a 74-year-old retired Australian footballer who managed to score 18 goals in 48 appearances for the Australian national team during his service to them, though some sources say the exact number is 17 - of course, most of the sources say it’s 18. That actually gets Baartz an international goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.37 meaning that the retired Australian footballer scored a little bit more than one goal (exactly 1.11) in every two appearances that he made for his country’s national team.

Baartz may not look like a prolific goalscorer if you just consider his international goal-to-appearance ratio, but he’s indeed one if you consider his goalscoring record at club level: he scored 211 goals in 236 club appearances which is almost one goal in every appearance (exactly 0.89). He’s also the only one-club man on the list of

Australia top scorers of all time

- at least among the first 10 on the list. He only served the Australian club,

, during his club career which lasted from 1966 to 1974. And from among all the 18 goals Baartz scored 9 were scored in international friendlies, 5 in World Cup, and 4 in other competitions. He never received a yellow or red card during his international career.

Brett Emerton (17 Goals) 

Again there is controversy concerning the number of goals this Australian footballer scored for the Australian national team. While some sources say he scored 17 goals in 75 international appearances, others say he scored either 20 goals in 95 appearances or 21 goals in 97 appearances. Whatever way, the goal-to-appearance ratio Emerton gets is around 0.2 which means he scored one goal in every 5 appearances for the Australian national team.

If we assume the former claim as true (17 goals), then the number of international goals Emerton scored is divided between different competitions as below: International friendlies 2, World Cup qualification rounds 12, AFC Asian Cup 1, and East Asian Football Championship 2. Emerton also provided 3 assists, and received 12 yellow cards, and 2 second yellow cards leading to a red card during his 14-year international career which lasted from 1998 to 2012.

He also served Australia under-aged national teams (U17, U20, and U23) sometime between 1994 and 2000 making 52 appearances and scoring 9 goals for them in the process. It should also be mentioned here that the 42-year-old retired Australian footballer won two OFC Nations Cup in 2000 and 2004 with the Australian senior national team and one OFC U-17 and one OFC U-20 Championship in 1995 and 1997, respectively, with the respective Australian under-aged national teams.

Harry Kewell (17 Goals)

One of the best footballers Australia has ever produced, Harry Kewell is a 43-year-old retired midfielder who played for the two Premier League clubs, Leeds United and

, for two third of his career’s length; actually from 1996 to 2008. That alone shows that he was a world-class player plus that just like Tim Cahill, he was once nominated for the Ballon d’Or trophy - actually in 2001. But let’s get to the goals Kewell scored for the Australian national team.

Kewell scored 17 goals in 58 international appearances which get him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.29 meaning that the retired Australian midfielder scored almost 1.5 goals (exactly 1.45) in every 5 appearances for his country’s national team. From among all the 17 goals Kewell scored for Australia, 7 were scored in World Cup qualification rounds and finals, 5 in international friendlies, 4 in AFC Asian Cup, and 1 in Confederations Cup. He also provided 2 assists, and received 4 yellow cards and one red card during his international career.

Joshua Kennedy (17 Goals)

Retired since 2015, Joshua Kennedy is a 39-year-old former Australian forward who served the Australian national team from 2006 to 2014 scoring 17 goals in 36 appearances for them. That actually means he scored almost one goal in every two appearances that he made for his country’s national team. From among all the 17 goals Kennedy scored for Australia 9 were scored in international friendlies and 8 in World Cup qualification rounds. He also provided 4 assists and received 2 yellow cards during his international career. And Kennedy also served Australia U17 and U20 national teams sometime between 1999 and 2001 scoring 7 goals in 23 appearances for them winning an OFC U-20 Championship with the latter in 2001.

The Rest of the List of Australia Top Scorers of All Time

Here are a few more Australia top scorers. As we mentioned earlier in this post, none of

Australia top scorer in 2021

are among at least the first ten Australia top scorers of all time. Actually,

who is among Australia top scorer in 2021 with 2 goals occupies the 20th position on the list of Australia top scorers of all time with 13 goals.

Please note that by ratio below we mean international goal-to-appearance ratio.

• Jack Hughes, Goals: 17, Apps: 13, Ratio: 1.30, Pos: forward, Status: retired

• Gary Cole, Goals: 17, Apps: 15, Ratio: 1.13, Pos: forward, Status: retired

• Aurelio Vidmar, Goals: 16, Apps: 48, Ratio: 0.33, Pos: forward, Status: retired

• Peter Ollerton, Goals: 15, Apps: 28, Ratio: 0.53, Pos: forward, Status: retired

• Mark Bresciano, Goals: 13, Apps: 70, Ratio: 0.18, Pos: midfielder, Status: retired

• Mathew Leckie, Goals: 13, Apps: 51, Ratio: 0.25, Pos: winger, Status: playing

• Paul Trimboli, Goals: 13, Apps: 26, Ratio: 0.5, Pos: forward, Status: retired

• Scott Chipperfield, Goals: 12, Apps: 52, Ratio: 0.23, Pos: midfielder, Status: retired

• Mark Viduka, Goals: 11, Apps: 60, Ratio: 0.18, Pos: forward, Status: retired

• Frank Parsons, Goals: 11, Apps: 9, Ratio: 1.2, Pos: forward, Status: retired

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