5. Zlatan Ibrahimović – 19 goals
The
Swedish superstar is still going strong at the age of 38, though the former
Manchester United man called time on his international career as arguably his
country’s greatest ever player back in 2016. Football fans around the world can
buy Euro 2020 Tickets
online to enjoy its outstanding performances.
Comfortably
Sweden’s all-time great goal scorer following a 15-year international career
that delivered 62 goals in 166 caps, Ibrahimović fired 19 goals during Euro
qualifying as Sweden qualified for four successive finals between 2004 and
2016.
One
of the greatest forwards of his generation, 11 of Ibrahimović’s qualifying
goals would come as Sweden reached the 2016 finals, though, after a
disappointing group-stage exit, he would retire from international duty at the
conclusion of the tournament.
4. Hakan Sukur – 19 goals
Known
as the ‘Bull of Bosporus’, Sukur broke several goalscoring records in a career that
spanned more than two decades, including becoming the greatest goal scorer in
the history of the Turkish national team during a memorable international
career.
Sukur
would net seven times as Turkey qualified for the 1996 championships in
England, though failed to replicate that form at the finals as his side were
eliminated without scoring a single goal.
Capped
112 times, Sukur would score 51 international goals, including a huge 19 in Euro Cup qualifying.
His goals would help Turkey once again reach the finals in 2000, where they
were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Portugal.
3. Jon Dahl Tomasson – 19 goals
The
Danish forward couldn’t buy a goal during a disappointing Premier League spell
at Newcastle, though Tomasson was a different proposition in the red shirt of
his national team.
He
would fire six goals as Denmark qualified for the finals in 2000, while another
haul of five saw them once again qualify for Euro 2004, where he was named in
the team of the tournament.
A
deep-lying forward, Tomasson’s best personal haul would be in qualifying for
Euro 2008, though Denmark failed to reach the finals despite his eight strikes.
The
former AC Milan striker would remarkably never go more than two qualifiers
without finding the net, retiring from international duty in 2010 as his
country’s joint all-time record goalscorer with 52 goals.
2. Robbie Keane – 23 goals
The
talisman for the Irish for virtually the entirety of his international career,
Keane would prove prolific at international level scoring 62 times for the Boys
in Green. The joint-fifth highest European international goal scorer of
all-time, Keane is also the second most prolific player in the history of Euro 2020 qualifying.
Despite
the regularity of his cart-wheeling celebration in qualifiers, Keane would
reach just two finals, in 2012 and 2016 where a place in the last 16 was
Ireland’s best finish. His 23 goals would prove the benchmark, until it was
surpassed by one man in September 2019…
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 31 goals
One
of the game’s all-time greats continues to set new records and landmarks,
surpassing Keane to become the greatest goal scorer in European Championship
qualifiers in September 2019. He achieved the feat in typical Ronaldo fashion,
hitting four goals in a thrashing of Lithuania.
The
five-time Ballon d’Or winner further extended his record by scoring in
October’s qualifiers with Luxembourg and Ukraine, the latter being the 700th
goal of his illustrious career.
Another
four goals over the latest international break mean Portugal’s all-time record goal
scorer now has 99 goals in 164 caps for his national side, whilst he is quickly
closing in on Iranian Ali Daei’s record of 106 goals as the greatest goal
scorer in the history of international football.
Football enthusiasts can get England Euro
Cup Tickets through the online ticketing marketplace.
Ticket4football.com is the most reliable source to book Euro Cup Tickets.
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