IFFHS AWARDS 2022 - MEN'S WORLD BEST INTERNATIONAL GOAL SCORER 2022
IFFHS Men's World Best International Goal Scorer 2022: Lionel Messi
Two main heroes of the 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, competed for this individual trophy until the last minutes of the final match between their countries in Qatar.
As a result, Messi finished the year with one-goal margin from his club teammate by 1 goal. This can be seen as a kind of revenge for the fact that Mbappe won the Golden Boot of the World Cup with the same advantage to the Argentine.
Messi’s total of 22 international goals is made by 4 scored for PSG and 18 for “Albiceleste”. This is his third title of IFFHS Men's Best International Goal Scorer, after 2011 and 2012.
THE RANKING 2022
| Player | Club | Country | Goals | Total | ||
| ICC | NT | |||||
| 1 | Lionel Messi | PSG (France) | Argentina | 4 | 18 | 22 |
| 2 | Kylian Mbappé | PSG | France | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| 3 | Julián Álvarez | River Plate, Manchester City (England) | Argentina | 8 | 7 | 15 |
| 4 | Erling Haaland | Borussia D (Germany), Manchester City (England) | Norway | 5 | 9 | 14 |
| 5 | Sadio Mané | Liverpool (England), Bayern (Germany) | Senegal | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| 6 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern (Germany), Barcelona (Spain) | Poland | 9 | 4 | 13 |
| 7 | Pedro | Flamengo | Brazil | 12 | 1 | 13 |
| 8 | Eldor Shomurodov | Roma (Italy) | Uzbekistan | 1 | 11 | 12 |
| 9 | Richarlison | Everton, Tottenham (England) | Brazil | 2 | 10 | 12 |
| 10 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool (England) | Egypt | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| 11 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid (Spain) | France | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| 12 | Olivier Giroud | Milan (Italy) | France | 4 | 7 | 11 |
| 13 | Cody Gakpo | PSV | Netherlands | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| Mehdi Taremi | Porto (Portugal) | Iran | 6 | 5 | 11 | |
| 15 | Vincent Aboubakar | Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia) | Cameroon | 10 | 10 | |
| 16 | Neymar | PSG (France) | Brazil | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Teerasil Dangda | Pathum United | Thailand | 2 | 7 | 9 | |
| 18 | Artem Dovbyk | Dnipro-1 | Ukraine | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| 19 | Juan Ignacio Dinenno | Pumas UNAM (Mexico) | Argentina | 9 | 9 | |
| Raphael Veiga | Palmeiras | Brazil | 9 | 9 | ||
| 21 | Michy Batshuayi | Besiktas, Fenerbahce (Turkey) | Belgium | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| 22 | Mohammed Kudus | Ajax (Netherlands) | Ghana | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Giacomo Raspadori | Napoli | Italy | 4 | 4 | 8 | |
| 24 | Victorien Adebayor | USGN, Berkane (Morocco) | Niger | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| Vinícius Júnior | Real Madrid (Spain) | Brazil | 6 | 2 | 8 | |
| 26 | Edmilson Junior | Al-Duhail (Qatar) | Brazil | 8 | 8 | |
| James Tavernier | Rangers (Scotland) | England | 8 | 8 |
All “full international” games for country and the major international club competitions (without qualifiers) are taken in consideration in this ranking.
ICC = International Club Competitions, NT = National Team.
The tie-breaker at the equal number of total goals is the number of NT goals.
Period: from January 1 to December 31, 2022.