For a generation of football fans, Ali Daei is probably best known as the man whose record Cristiano Ronaldo has been chasing.
Daei, Iran’s talisman between 1993 and 2006, is little spoken of in any other context nowadays, but his enviable tally of 109 international goals has never been passed by any other player in men’s football. It was finally equalled in Portugal’s Euro 2020 draw with France, as Ronaldo coolly slotted in two penalties.
The caveat “in men’s football” is a necessary one when, contrary to popular belief, Daei is not the all-time leading goalscorer on the global stage. That title belongs to Christine Sinclair: Canadian, captain, and crucially – and here is where things get terribly controversial – woman.
Sinclair stands clear with 186 goals from her 297 caps, though the bad news for her Portuguese contemporary is that he is not only lagging behind the Portland Thorns No 12. USWNT’s Abby Wambach (184), Mia Hamm (158) and Kristine Lilly (130) are ahead, too.
Then there is one of the faces of the current USA set-up, Alex Morgan, with 110, Scotland’s Julie Fleeting with 116 goals and Germany’s Birgit Prinz with 128.
In better news for Ronaldo, Sinclair does not look poised to add many more, not least because she is two years his senior. Earlier this year, she was left out of the SheBelieves Cup and is yet to score in her three international appearances so far in 2021.
Ronaldo has scored an average of between five and six international goals a year since making his debut for A Selecao in 2003.
It would take another 13 years at that rate to match Sinclair, the 14-time Canadian Player of the Year and two-time Olympic bronze medallist, whose power, physical prowess and positional versatility make her a nightmare to defend against. That much, the pair have in common.
The obvious question when comparing international records in the men’s and women’s game is whether the standard is comparable.
There is still a worrying gulf between the funding backing the top players in countries like the USA and Canada, and some of their opponents. That helps to explain why Megan Rapinoe, Morgan and co were met with such a barrage of criticism for celebrating wildly against a Thailand team they had just thrashed 13-0 in 2019.
Not that Ronaldo’s own record hasn’t been propped up with seven goals against Lithuania, two against Saudi Arabia, one against North Korea and six against Andorra. Four of his 109 came in matches against the Faroe Islands, two against Cyprus and another two against Azerbaijan.
It is probably futile to draw parallels, but it’s remarkable nonetheless the regularity with which, at this summer’s men’s European Championship and all its talk of history-making, Sinclair’s record is overlooked.
More from i on Euro 2020
- England aren’t ‘rubbish’ and Southgate isn’t a ‘fraud’ – we just need a bit of patience
- What the Premier League could learn from Euro 2020’s controversy-free referees
- The football nomad who became a hero for his role in saving Eriksen’s life
- How Ronaldo’s Coca-Cola stunt could change the face of football sponsorship
- How to watch every Euro 2020 match on TV and online in the UK
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/35VF3yG
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