Portugal have arguably produced some of the greatest attacking footballers in history.
Just think Cristiano Ronaldo. Or Eusebio.
And we've not even mentioned the likes of Luis Figo and Rui Costa yet.
There have been many more attacking greats representing them, though, with Pauleta and Nuno Gomes for example having been household names for the national team in their prime.
Who is Portugal's most lethal attacker ever, though?
Let's take a look at the men leading their all-time goalscoring charts!
The greatest player Portugal have ever had. It's that simple.
It's thus little surprise Cristiano Ronaldo is also their highest-ever goalscorer on the international stage.
He made his international debut against Kazakhstan back in 2003 and scored his first goal eight months later in a 2-2 draw against Sweden.
The Euro Championship and UEFA Nations League winner has scored a total of 118 goals for Portugal.
Pauleta made his Portugal debut in 1997 against Armenia and scored his first goals in a brace against Azerbaijan in 1999.
He went on to become Portugal's highest-ever international goalscorer (a title he has since had to relinquish to Cristiano Ronaldo), before hanging up his boots in 2006.
Pauleta scored 47 goals in 88 matches for Portugal, at a 0.53 goals-per-game ratio.
Considered by many as one of the greatest forwards of all time, Eusebio scored 733 goals in 745 games across all competitions in his career, including 41 goals for Portugal.
Nicknamed 'The Black Panther', Eusebio was Portugal's greatest-ever goalscorer until Pauleta broke his record.
The 1965 Ballon d'Or winner's 41 goals for his country came in just 64 games, at a stunning 0.64 goals-per-game ratio, the best in Portuguese history.
Fun fact, it is often said that in his prime, Eusebio took just 11 seconds to run 100 meters!
Luis Figo is without a doubt one of the most accomplished personalities in Portuguese football history.
The 2000 Ballon d'Or winner scored 32 goals in 127 appearances for Portugal, with his standout performance for his country from a goalscoring perspective coming in 2001, when he scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for Portugal against Moldova in an international friendly.
Nuno Gomes scored his first goal for Portugal in the opening match of Euro 2000 against England.
The year 2001 was his most memorable one in a Portugal shirt as he scored nine goals in as many appearances for his country.
He made 79 appearances for Portugal, scoring 29 goals, with his most clinical performance coming against Andorra in 2001, when he scored four goals and provided two assists in an 7-1 win.
One of the most lethal strikers in the late 2000s, Helder Postiga featured in three European Championships and two World Cups for Portugal, scoring 27 goals in 71 appearances.
Postiga famously scored one and assisted one in Portugal's Euro 2004 quarter-final win over England in which he scored a 'Panenka' style penalty in the shootout.
The striker also featured for his country in the 2008 and 2010 editions of the European Championship.
At club level, Postiga featured for a host of clubs in Portugal, Spain, England and Greece before ending his career at Indian Super League club Atletico De Kolkata in 2016.
Seventh on the list of Portugal's all time top goalscorers in history, Rui Costa announced himself on the global stage in a grand manner at the World Youth Cup in 1991 as he led his team to glory at the expense of Brazil.
The attacking midfielder helped his national team reach the quarter-finals of Euro 1996, the semi-finals of Euro 2000 and the final of UEFA Euro 2004.
Overall, Rui Costa scored 26 goals in 90 appearances for Portugal, with his screamer against England in the Euro 2004 quarter-final as one of the main highlights of his international career.
Nani was a key part of the Portugal team that won the Euro 2016 tournament in France.
The winger scored 24 goals in 112 appearances for the national team, including a goal on his debut against Denmark in a friendly.
Quick on his feet, powerful and skilful on the ball, Nani began his career at Sporting CP in Portugal before rising to prominence at Manchester United following his transfer in 2007.
Nene made his Portugal debut in 1971 and the Benfica legend played 66 games for his national team, scoring 22 goals.
A prolific striker of the 1970s, he was regularly seen competing with Eusebio for the Portuguese Footballer of the Year awards in his prime.
Nene played a crucial role for Portugal in helping them reach the semi-final of the Euro Championships in 1984.
He was the highest capped player in Portugal national team history until 1994.
Tenth on the list of top international goal scorers for Portugal is Joao Pinto.
The forward scored 22 goals in 81 games and featured at Euro 1996, Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup for the Portuguese national team.
Pinto's lowest moment came at the 2002 World Cup against South Korea when he hit Argentine referee Angel Sanchez after he was shown a red card for a bad tackle.
Pinto was given a six-month suspension for his moment of madness.
Position | Player | Games | Goals | Portugal career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Cristiano Ronaldo | 193 | 118 | 2003 - present |
2. | Pauleta | 88 | 47 | 1996 - 2006 |
3. | Eusebio | 64 | 41 | 1961 - 1973 |
4. | Luis Figo | 127 | 32 | 1991 - 2006 |
5. | Nuno Gomes | 79 | 29 | 1996 - 2011 |
6. | Helder Postiga | 71 | 27 | 2003 - 2014 |
7. | Rui Costa | 94 | 26 | 1993 - 2004 |
8. | Nani | 112 | 24 | 2006 - 2017 |
9. | Nene | 65 | 22 | 1971 - 1984 |
10. | Joao Pinto | 81 | 22 | 1991 - 2002 |
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