Sunil Chhetri total goals tally on the international stage of world football stands at 84. He is the third-highest active goal-scorer in international football after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Sunil Chhetri is the biggest name when it comes to Indian football. No other Indian footballer in the modern age has played international football quite like Chhetri. The captain of the Indian national team, 38-year-old Sunil Chhetri has already enjoyed a stellar and illustrious career at the top.
Known lovingly as ‘captain, leader, legend’ by fans of Team India and Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League, Chhetri is among the greatest footballers to emerge out of the country. His exploits for club and country have even attracted plenty of praise from international communities.
Without further ado, let’s discuss Sunil Chhetri total goals tally in international football and why it is so special:
Sunil Chhetri total goals in international football
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2005 | 5 | 1 |
| 2006 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 | 7 | 6 |
| 2008 | 13 | 8 |
| 2009 | 6 | 1 |
| 2010 | 6 | 3 |
| 2011 | 17 | 13 |
| 2012 | 8 | 4 |
| 2013 | 11 | 5 |
| 2014 | 2 | 3 |
| 2015 | 12 | 6 |
| 2016 | 4 | 2 |
| 2017 | 6 | 5 |
| 2018 | 6 | 8 |
| 2019 | 11 | 7 |
| 2021 | 10 | 8 |
| 2022 | 6 | 4 |
| Total | 131 | 84 |
Sunil Chhetri is the most-capped player in international football for India and is also the record goal-scorer for India. Chhetri scored his first goal for the country against Pakistan on on June 12, 2005.
Since then, he has made 131 official appearances in international football and has 84 goals to his name. His first international tournament was the 2007 Nehru Cup which was held in India. Chhetri had scored four goals in total during the Nehru Cup, two against Cambodia, one against Syria, and one against Kyrgyzstan.
Chhetri became the highest goal-scorer in the history of Indian football in 2011, when he scored a brace against Maldives in India’s 3-1 victory in the 2011 SAFF Championship. He overtook the previous record of 29 goals which was held by the legendary I.M. Vijayan.
Chhetri scored his 50th goal in international football on the final day of the year in 2015 . He took his tally of international goals to 72 by scoring in India’s 2-1 loss to Oman in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in September 2019 to become the fifth-highest international goal-scorer of all time from Asia.
Since then, he has only gone from strength to strength and is now the joint fifth-highest goal scorer of all time along with Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas.
| Competition | Apps | Goals |
| SAFF Championship | 22 | 18 |
| FIFA World Cup qualifiers | 19 | 9 |
| Nehru Cup (Friendly tournament) | 14 | 9 |
| AFC Asian Cup qualifiers | 12 | 8 |
| AFC Challenge Cup | 8 | 4 |
| Intercontinental Cup (Friendly tournament) | 7 | 11 |
| AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers | 6 | 3 |
| AFC Asian Cup | 5 | 4 |
| King’s Cup (Friendly tournament) | 1 | 1 |
| Friendlies | 37 | 17 |
The Indian talisman has scored the most goals in his international career in the SAFF Championship competition where he has scored 18 goals in 22 matches. Chhetri has also found the back of the net the most often against Nepal and Maldives and has eight goals each against them. Bangladesh and Chinese Taipei are next on the list with six goals each while Chhetri has also scored five goals each against Tajikistan and Cambodia.
The 38-year-old has also scored three hat-tricks over his career: against Tajikistan in 2008, against Vietnam in 20110, and against Chinese Taipei in 2018.
Sunil Chhetri total goals: By Club
| Years | Team | Apps | Goals |
| 2002–2005 | Mohun Bagan | 18 | 8 |
| 2005–2008 | JCT | 48 | 21 |
| 2008–2009 | East Bengal | 17 | 9 |
| 2009–2010 | Dempo | 13 | 8 |
| 2010 | Kansas City Wizards | 1 | 0 |
| 2011 | Chirag United | 7 | 7 |
| 2011–2012 | Mohun Bagan | 14 | 8 |
| 2012–2013 | Sporting CP B | 3 | 0 |
| 2013 | → Churchill Brothers (loan) | 8 | 4 |
| 2013–2015 | Bengaluru | 43 | 16 |
| 2015–2016 | Mumbai City | 17 | 7 |
| 2016 | → Bengaluru (loan) | 14 | 5 |
| 2016– | Bengaluru | 119 | 51 |
Highest goal-scorers in international football: Sunil Chhetri outranks Pele
| Rank | Player | Nation | Confederation | Goals | Caps | Goalsper match | Career span |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | UEFA | 117 | 191 | 0.61 | 2003– |
| 2 | Ali Daei | Iran | AFC | 109 | 148 | 0.74 | 1993–2006 |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | CONMEBOL | 92 | 166 | 0.55 | 2005– |
| 4 | Mokhtar Dahari | Malaysia | AFC | 89 | 142 | 0.63 | 1972–1985 |
| 5 | Ferenc Puskás | HungarySpain | UEFA | 84 | 89 | 0.94 | 1945–1962 |
| 5 | Sunil Chhetri | India | AFC | 84 | 131 | 0.64 | 2005– |
| 7 | Ali Mabkhout | United Arab Emirates | AFC | 80 | 109 | 0.73 | 2009– |
| 8 | Godfrey Chitalu | Zambia | CAF | 79 | 111 | 0.71 | 1968–1980 |
| 9 | Hussein Saeed | Iraq | AFC | 78 | 137 | 0.57 | 1977–1990 |
| 10 | Pelé | Brazil | CONMEBOL | 77 | 92 | 0.84 | 1957–1971 |
Sunil Chhetri is currently the highest active international goal-scorer in Asia. He is also the fourth-highest goal-scorer in history and the third-highest active goal-scorer in international football.
Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, leads the list and is the only player to cross the 100-goal mark in world football besides Iran’s Ali Daei who had also scored 109 goals. Daei is the highest goal-scorer from Asia.
In third place is Argentina’s Lionel Messi with over 90 goals and both Messi and Ronaldo will be looking to add more goals to their international tally at the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Messi is followed by Mokhtar Dahari who had scored 89 goals for Malaysia during his career. Dahari is the second-highest goal-scorer in the history of Asian international football.
The fifth place is jointly held by Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas and Sunil Chhetri with 84 goals each. This makes Chhetri the third-highest goal-scorer from Asia in international football history.
FAQs
What is the age of Sunil Chhetri?
Born in August 3, 1984, Sunil Chhetri is 38 years old.
Who is the second-highest goal-scorer from India?
The legendary I.M. Vijayan is the second highest goal-scorer for India. He had scored 29 goals in 66 matches over his career.
How many hat-tricks does Sunil Chhetri have over his career?
Sunil Chhetri has scored three hat-trick in Indian colours.
Who holds the record for the most appearances for India in international football?
Sunil Chhetri also holds the record for the most appearances by an Indian in international football. He has made 131 appearances so far in his career.
Who is the highest goal-scorer in international football?
Cristiano Ronaldo, with 117 goals (at the time of writing) is the highest goal-scorer in international football.
