Ahead of the upcoming October international fixtures, SheKicks takes a look at who is the record goalscorer in women’s international football, running down the list of the top 10 in history.
The 10 players with the most international goals in women’s football history
10. Eugenie Le Sommer (France) – 94 goals in 200 games
Eugenie Le Sommer is still active in the game and is only six goals away from hitting a century for France.
However, it appears as though her international career is on the wane after she was left out of the France squad for Euro 2025.
Her best scoring year for France came between 2011 and 2015 when she netted 37 goals for Les Bleus in that period.
9. Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands) – 100 goals in 126 games
Manchester City forward Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th international goal during the Netherlands’ 3-0 victory over France at Euro 2025.
The former Arsenal star scores at a rate of a goal every 0.79 games for her nation and is still likely to move further up this list.
She will hope to add to her tally when the Netherlands play Poland and Canada within the next week.
8. Portia Modise (South Africa) – 101 goals in 124 games
A name who might not be familiar to many, Portia Modise scored a staggering 101 goals in 124 games for South Africa between 2000 and 2015
Modise was nominated for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year in 2005 and scored from the centre-circle against Sweden at the 2012 London Olympics.
She helped South Africa reach the final of the 2012 African Women’s Championship where they lost to Equatorial Guinea, with a third place finish six years prior.
7. Patrizia Panico (Italy) – 110 goals in 204 games
Italy legend Patrizia Panico scored 110 goals in 204 games for her country between 1996 and 2014.
Although she enjoyed tremendous success in Italy, the country fell short on the international scene despite her many goals.
Italy lost 2-0 to Germany in the final of Women’s Euro 1997 and failed to qualify for the World Cup in three successive tournaments during the prime of her career.
6. Julie Fleeting (Scotland) – 116 goals in 121 games
Former Arsenal striker Julie Fleeting is the second-highest goalscorer for a European nation in international football.
Fleeting never played at a major international competition for Scotland but she scored a staggering 116 goals in 121 games.
She once scored six goals in a game against Portugal during an 8-1 victory in qualifying for Women’s Euro 2005.
5. Marta (Brazil) – 120 goals in 212 games
Brazil legend Marta is the second-highest active player in this list with 120 goals in 212 games for the South American nation.
Her goals have helped Brazil win the Women’s Copa America on four occasions – most recently this year.
The 39-year-old was also on the shortlist for this year’s Ballon d’Or, showing she is still going strongly.
Marta also holds the record for the most goals at the Women’s World Cup with 17.
4. Birgit Prinz (Germany) – 128 goals in 214 games
Birgit Prinz is perhaps the most successful player on this list having won two World Cups and five European Championships for Germany.
She netted 128 goals between 1994 and 2011 and features high in many scoring records.
Prinz is only behind Marta for goals at the Women’s World Cup with 14, and is the joint all-time leading scorer at the Women’s Euros with 10.
3. Maysa Jbarah (Jordan) – 144 goals in 151 games
Maysa Jbarah is a name who might not be known to many but she is the third-highest goalscorer in women’s international football.
The 36-year-old, who currently plays for Neom, in Saudi Arabia, has scored 144 goals for Jordan since 2005.
Her best goalscoring year came in 2017 when she netted 19 goals in 15 games.
2. Abby Wambach (United States) – 184 goals in 255 games)
Abby Wamach is the record goalscorer for the United States and falls just six goals short of the record for the most goals in women’s international football.
Up until January 2020, she did hold the record for most goals in women’s international football.
Wambach won two Olympic gold medals as well as the Women’s World Cup in 2015.
1. Christine Sinclair (Canada) – 190 goals in 331 appearances
Christine Sinclair, who retired from football last year, holds the record for the top goalscorer in women’s international football history – a record that is unlikely to be surpassed any time soon.
She retired from international football in 2023, just ten goals short of hitting the 200 mark.
Canada enjoyed trophy success with Sinclair, winning the Summer Olympics football tournament in 2021 as well as the Concacaf Women’s Championship in 2010.
Sinclair was nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year award on eight occasions during her legendary career.
Which active players could reach the top 10?
The closest active player who could make the top 10 goalscorers in women’s international football history is Belgium’s Tessa Wullaert.
In fact, the Inter Milan forward is just one goal shy of Eugenie Le Sommer with 93 goals in 146 games.
Pernille Harder is 18th with 78 goals while Sam Kerr – who is set to return to international football after two years out with injury – is 23rd on 69 goals.
Ewa Pajor also has an impressive 69 goals, and will be hoping to add to her tally when she returns from a knee injury. There was relief for Barcelona after Pajor did not injure her ACL as initially feared.
Barbara Banda and Khadija Shaw are also climbing up the rankings. Banda already has 63 goals in 57 appearances for Zambia at the age of 25, while 28-year-old Shaw has 57 goals in just 44 games.
Who is the all-time leading goalscorer for England?
Ellen White is England’s top goalscorer with 52 goals, despite retiring three years ago.
The top scorer still playing for the Lionesses today is Beth Mead with 37.
Alessia Russo could look to take White’s record in the years to come. The Arsenal striker currently has 25 goals in 57 appearances.
