Argentina national team all-time top scorers

Known as a team with many great stars throughout its history, Argentina which had its first recorded match in 1902, has had many honors and achievements to its name so far.

The Albicelestes have appeared in six World Cup finals, taking part in eight tournaments overall. The team has been the champions in 1978, 1986 and 2022, beating Netherlands 3–1 and West Germany 3–2 and France in the penalty shootouts. The team has also been the runners-up in 1930, 1990, and 2014.

It's also important to note that the team's World Cup-winning managers in 1978 and 1986 were César Luis Menotti,Carlos Bilardo and Lionel Scaloni, respectively.

Additionally, Argentina has had great success in the Copa América competitions, taking first place 15 times and placing second 14 times.

Argentina has won the FIFA Confederations Cup, Panamerican Championship, and CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions four times, in 1960, 1992, 1993, in addition to 2022. Additionally, the group has won the Olympic football competitions in Beijing in 2008 and Athens in 2004.

Knowing all these facts, no one can deny the fact that La Albiceleste has been home to many stars, bringing us to this article today, to take a look at

Argentina's national team all-time top scorers

.

Argentina national team top scorers of all time

Below is a list of

the highest goal scorers in Argentina national team history

.

Lionel Messi

• Current team:

  Paris Saint-Germain

• Total appearances:

  172

• Goals:

  98

Known to be

, the well-known, beloved Argentinian footballer's international debut goes back to 2005 when his team faced Hungary in a friendly match.

Previously kicking the ball for Argentina U20 and U23, winning the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship and the 2008 Summer Olympics respectively, he went on to hold the record for his national team appearances, being also

Argentina’s all-time top scorer

.

Becoming the youngest Argentine player to appear and score in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he helped his team reach the tournament’s quarter-final but did not play in their match against Germany, which was over with a 4-2 defeat, leading Argentina to elimination from the tournament.

was also a part of the Argentine team that reached the final of the 2007 Copa América, where he was named young player of the tournament, despite their surprising defeat to Brazil with a 3-0 result. The superstar has also helped his team reach the Copa América final in 2015, 2016, and 2021, where they became the runners-up for the first two years and the champions for the third. 

He added to his total appearances with stepping in the field with Argentina in World Cup 2022.

Being Argentina's national team captain since 2011, Messi has led the team to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, in addition to the 2015 and 2016 Copa América. It also has to be mentioned that the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 edition of the Copa América brought the superstar the Golden Ball award.

Messi announced his international retirement in 2016, but then again decided to lead his country through the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, the 2019 and the 2021 Copa América, where they achieved the third title and championship respectively, with Messi winning the Golden Ball and Golden Boot award for the latter. As their last achievement together the best football player in the world achieved the 2022 World Cup, along with his team.

To mention more of his achievements, Messi has collected a record seven Ballon d'Or awards, and six European Golden Shoes.

Gabriel Batistuta

• Current team:

  Retired

• Total appearances:

  78

• Goals:

  55

The second name on our list of

Argentina all-time top scorers

is one of the greatest strikers of all time, Batigol.

Starting his international career in 1991, Batistuta was first selected to be a part of that year’s Argentine team to take part in Chile’s Copa America, where he finished the tournament as the top scorer with six goals.

Interestingly, that was only the beginning of Batistuta’s brighter days to come, as the following year, he won the FIFA Confederations Cup with Argentina, once more finishing as the tournament's top-scorer.

In 1993, he achieved the second Copa América title of his career, scoring both final goals in the 2–1 win against Mexico.

Despite Argentina’s failure in the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, Batistuta managed to set his record during both tournaments, scoring a hat-trick in their opening game against Greece in 1994 and the second in their match against Jamaica in 1998, becoming the first to score a hat-trick in two World Cups.

The second Argentine top scorer retired after his team was eliminated from the 2002 World Cup in the opening round, holding the record as the team’s top scorer until he was surpassed by Lionel Messi in 2016.

Overall, Batistuta won two Copa América titles, the 1993 CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, and the 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup with Argentina.

Sergio Aguero

• Current team:

  Retired

• Total appearances:

  101

• Goals:

  41

The third name on our list of Argentina national team top scorers of all time is the well-known player,

.

Making his international debut for Argentina in 2006 in a friendly match against Brazil, he went on to perform in 101 matches, scoring 41 for Argentina.

Beginning his international career as a member of the U20 and U23, the young star helped Argentina achieve the 2005 and 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup titles, in addition to the 2008 Olympic Golden Medal, while he was a member of the U23 team.

Being Argentina's third-highest top scorer of all time, the star represented the senior team at three FIFA World Cups and five Copas América, winning the Copa América in 2021, also helping his team through the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where they finished as the runners-up against Germany.  

Hernan Crespo

• Current team:

  Retired

• Total appearances:

  6

• Goals:

  35

Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time,

started his international career back in 1995 and was a member of the Argentine national team, which became the 1996 Summer Olympics runners-up, after losing in the final against Nigeria. 

His first performance on the pitch goes back to 1995 when Argentine faced Bulgaria in a friendly match.

Despite scoring in the 1998 World Cup qualification against Ecuador, he did not appear a lot during the main tournament, as Gabriel Batistuta led the Argentine attack.

The fourth name on the list of Argentina’s top scorers of all time also took part in the 2002 and 2006 World Cup tournaments, though he did not achieve what he really deserved. 

Crespo's final appearance for Argentina was in 2007, when he went on the pitch for that year’s Cope America tournament, representing his team for the last time, as he then retired with 35 goals in 64 matches.

Gonzalo Higuain

Current team:

Retired

Total appearances:

75

Goals:

31

As one of Argentina's national team top scorers,

started his international career back in 2008 with the U23 team, joining the senior team one year later.

Higuain was called up for three FIFA World Cup tournaments (2010, 2014, and 2018). He was first selected to perform in the last two 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, by coach Maradona, against Peru and Uruguay, in which he scored once against Peru.

Being called for the upcoming tournament, he managed to be one of Argentina’s stars, scoring a hat-trick in Argentina's 4–1 win over South Korea, in addition to another goal in their 3–1 win over Mexico in the second round.

Despite Argentina’s failure during that year’s tournament, the beloved young player later helped his team reach the 2014 FIFA World Cup final, scoring Argentina’s only goal against Belgium in the quarter-finals, though eventually, they lost the final match to Germany in extra time.

Pipita also performed in the 2011 and 2015 Copa America competitions, in addition to the 2016 Copa América Centenario, where they reached the 2015 and 2016 tournaments’ finals, finishing as the runners-up in both.

Diego Maradona

• Current team:

  -

• Total appearances:

  80

• Goals:

  29

The  next

highest goalscorer for Argentina national team

is Hand of God, who scored 29 goals in 80 appearances for Argentina.

Being among the most famous Argentina players,

started his international career back in 1977, and took part in many events along with his teammates, before being retired in 1994.

Making his debut in 1977 at the age of 16, he presented Argentina for the first time in a friendly against Hungary. Being missed from the 1978 World Cup team due to his young age, Maradona played his first World Cup in 1982, but the 1986 World Cup tournament, was where the young star appeared spectacularly, captaining Argentina to their amazing victory over West Germany in the final, also winning the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. That was the year Maradona earned the nickname “Hand of God”.

In the 1990 World Cup tournament the brilliant football player guided his team to the final once more. However, due to an ankle injury, his overall performance was affected and despite all the team’s effort they lost the final match against West Germany and finished the tournament as the runners-up.

Angel Di Maria

• Current team:

  Juventus FC

• Total appearances:

  129

• Goals:

  28

The next name on our list of the

highest Argentine top scorers

is Di Maria, who is greatly known as one of the best wingers in the world. Starting his international career back in 2007 with the U20 team,

later joined the senior team in 2008, making his debut in a match against Paraguay.

So far, this Argentine top scorer has taken part in 129 caps, scoring 28 goals for his senior team. However, before joining the first team, he accompanied the U20 team to win the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, also becoming the 2007 South American U-20 Championship runner-up. Only one year later he accompanied the Argentina U23 team on their victorious path, winning the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal.

Throughout his years with the senior team also the brilliant footballer achieved so many titles and awards to his name, including the 2021 Copa América, the 2022 CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, the 2014 FIFA World Cup second title, after they were beaten by their rivals, Germany, in the final match, and 2022 World Cup.

Lautaro Martinez

• Current team:

  Inter Milan

• Total appearances:

   46

• Goals:

  21

Regarded as The Bull due to his leadership and persistence on the pitch,

is the next name on our list of Argentina national team all-time top scorers, with 21 goals for his team.

Starting his international career in 20-17, being first called up to take part in the 2017 South American U-20 Championship, he soon proved to be one of the bests, finishing the tournament as the joint-top scorer with five goals, also helping Argentina qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Making his senior international debut in 2018 against Italy and Spain in two friendly matches.

Playing a main role in the 2019 Copa America, he helped his team go up the ladder, reaching the semi-finals against Brazil, where they were defeated with a 2-0 result.

The 2021 Cope America tournament was the next for him to shine bright. Martinez’ was the one to score in each quarter-final, semi-final, and final match.

The 2021 Ballon d'Or nominee also accompanied the team in their 2022 CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions and 2022 World Cup title.

Daniel Passarella

• Current team:

  Retired

• Total appearances:

  60

• Goals:

  20

And here are the last two names on our list of

Argentinian top scorers of all time

.

started his international senior career in 1976 and was the one to captain the team during the 1978 World Cup tournament, and guided the team to the final match where they defeated the Netherlands in a 3-1 result, on home soil.

Though he missed the 1986 World Cup in Mexico due to a bout of enterocolitis, his team again was the champions of that year’s tournament with Passarella becoming the only player to feature in two Argentina World Cup-winning teams.

Jose Sanfilippo

• Current team:

  Retired

• Total appearances:

  21

• Goals: 

  18

And here is the last name on our article, Jose Sanfilippo. A great player who scored 18 goals in only 21 appearances.

Taking part in the 1958 and the 1962 FIFA World Cup, Sanfilippo was honored as the 1959 Copa America top-scorer at the international level.

And that was all in our article about

all-time Argentina Record goal scorers

. Which Argentinian star do you admire the most? Let us know in the comment section below. 

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