European stars are chasing Ronaldo and Messi's historic records

The competition among Europe's top football stars is moving beyond results and titles, with a new challenge emerging: approaching the exceptional goal-scoring records achieved by Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina's Lionel Messi at the international level, now that the two stars have retired from their national team careers. Ronaldo tops the list of all-time international goalscorers with 146 goals in 234 appearances, a record that seems unattainable at present, but remains a target that several current strikers are striving to approach, most notably England's Harry Kane, France's Kylian Mbappé, and Norway's Erling Haaland. Kane boasts 91 international goals and a distinguished career with the England national team. He is expected to reach another milestone when he plays against Croatia on Thursday in the UEFA Nations League, marking his 126th international appearance. Three days later, England faces a tough away match against Spain, who are performing strongly and maintaining an unbeaten record of 42 consecutive matches. In France, Kylian Mbappé continues to lead his national team with high ambitions, preparing to face Italy in Milan on Thursday, before another match against Turkey three days later. The Real Madrid striker boasts 67 international goals, making him one of the leading contenders to break records in the coming years. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland, with 65 goals for Norway, faces a crucial test against Wales on Saturday, a match that could prove pivotal in his country's fight to avoid relegation from a group that also includes Portugal, before traveling to Denmark on Tuesday. In Group 4 of League A, Jürgen Klopp's Germany is facing a difficult period, having finished third behind the Netherlands and Greece, who remain undefeated. Germany has only managed one win in its first four matches under its new coach, leaving them with a tough task to improve their position at the end of the group stage. Next week's matches will determine which two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, scheduled for March, with the semifinals and final to be played in June. The final round also carries added significance as it will help determine the rankings of the 54 teams before the draw for the Euro 2028 qualifiers, scheduled for December 6 in Belfast. While several strikers are closing in on the all-time top scorers' records, breaking Ronaldo's tally of 146 goals remains a complex task, given the significant gap between him and his closest rivals, as well as his consistent goal-scoring form for over two decades with the Portuguese national team. Messi ended his international career with Argentina last month, having reached 126 goals, placing him second on the all-time top scorers list, ahead of Iran's Ali Daei, who scored 108 international goals between 1993 and 2006. The list of pursuers also includes Belgium's Romelu Lukaku with 94 goals, Poland's Robert Lewandowski with 92, and Harry Kane with 91. Despite Lukaku and Kane being close in age, injuries that plagued the Belgian striker affected his participation and goal-scoring output, as he scored only five goals during 2026, compared to 13 goals for the English striker.Mbappé and Haaland appear poised to break records, given their young age and consistent scoring form. Mbappé is approaching his 28th birthday, while Haaland, at 26, boasts an impressive scoring rate with the Norwegian national team, exceeding one goal per game. This rate is reminiscent of Gerd Müller's achievement of 68 goals in 62 international appearances for West Germany, including the winning goal in the 1974 World Cup final. On the Arab front, Mohamed Salah continues to be a prominent international goalscorer, having increased his tally to 66 goals for his country, placing him 32nd overall, just behind Mbappé and Haaland in the aforementioned rankings.