Football without goals is like a fish without water. So scoring goals is the beauty of football, and scoring for a nation at the international level is the most important thing. However, those scoring opportunities have to be created somewhere, and often, good luck comes from teammates.
Argentinian forward Lionel Messi is in first place in the list of players who created those opportunities. The following list proves exactly that as the player with the most assists in international football history.
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Messi assisted on Lautaro Martinez’s winning goal in Argentina v Peru: FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier on November 20, tying former US striker Landon Donova’s record for most assists (58) in international football.
Assist numbers confirmed via national federation, wiki, and transfermarkt.
Updated 20 Nov 2024
List of most assists in international football history
| Player | Nation | Assists | Apps |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 58 | 191 |
| Landon Donovan | USA | 58 | 157 |
| Neymar | Brazil | 57 | 128 |
| Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 53 | 85 |
| Sándor Kocsis | Hungary | 50 | 68 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | Belgium | 49 | 107 |
| Thomas Muller | Germany | 41 | 131 |
| Alexis Sánchez | Chile | 41 | 166 |
| Mesut Özil | Germany | 40 | 92 |
| Pele | Brazil | 39 | 92 |
| Luis Suarez | Uruguay | 39 | 143 |
| David Beckham | England | 36 | 115 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 36 | 217 |
| Eden Hazard | Belgium | 36 | 126 |
| Kylian Mbappe | France | 35 | 86 |
| Robert Lewandowski | Poland | 35 | 156 |
| Mohamed Salah | Egypt | 33 | 103 |
| Miroslav Klose | Germany | 29 | 137 |
| Edin Dzeko | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 29 | 138 |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Sweden | 25 | 122 |
| Harry Kane | England | 19 | 103 |
